The United States has invited Russian President Vladimir Putin to attend a G20 meeting in Miami, Florida, in December, raising the possibility of a fresh summit with President Donald Trump, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said.
The Kremlin said Moscow would consider the invitation.
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Speaking after talks with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly, Mr Rubio said Washington remained willing to engage with Moscow over the war in Ukraine, even as attempts to secure an end to the conflict have stalled.
“We’ve invited President Putin to the G20. We think it’s an opportunity for him to engage not just with the president but with other world leaders. We hope that’s an invitation he’ll accept,” Mr Rubio said.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio
Russian news agencies quoted Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov as saying that Russia was “grateful and appreciative for this invitation”.
“We will make a decision and work through it via diplomatic channels,” he added.
Mr Rubio also said Mr Trump could have another meeting with China’s President Xi Jinping, who has arrived in Washington for a state visit, either at the G20 summit or during the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation meeting in Shenzhen.
The comments came as Russian strikes targeted logistics and infrastructure across Ukraine on Wednesday, killing at least seven people. Two of the victims were in Kyiv, where daytime drone attacks have intensified in recent weeks.
The former Zaliznychnyi Market, a landmark of Kyiv modernist architecture, burns following a reported strike by a Russian Geran-5 jet-powered attack drone
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky warned that Ukraine would retaliate and make the coming winter deeply painful for Russia if the two sides fail to reach a truce on attacks against energy facilities before the cold weather arrives.
Ukraine and its allies are working urgently to secure limited agreements covering energy infrastructure and Black Sea shipping before winter. They fear Russia will resume attacks on power and heating facilities, while Moscow continues to show little interest in broader negotiations aimed at ending the war.
“Ukrainians understand that this winter could be very harsh for us. But in response, we will have no choice but to make it painful for Russia too,” Mr Zelensky told the UN General Assembly during the annual gathering of world leaders in New York.
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