A bipartisan group of 14 U.S. senators have urged President Donald Trump to withdraw his invitation to Russian President Vladimir Putin for the G-20 summit in Miami in December.
The senators have sent a letter to Trump warning that Putin's participation could legitimize and normalize the Russian government while Russia continues to strike civilian targets in Ukraine.
“Putin bears sole responsibility for launching a full-scale war of aggression against Ukraine,“ the letter says.According to the Washington Post, quoted by “Ukrainska Pravda“, the authors of the letter also indicated that Putin, Russian Finance Minister Anton Siluanov and other members of the Russian delegation are under U.S. sanctions for actions deemed to be a threat to national security.
The senators claim that the absence of international isolation may reduce Putin's motivation to agree to a ceasefire with Ukraine. They did not specify specific conditions under which they would support the Russian president's participation in the forum.
Conflicting signals about Putin's participation
The call comes against the backdrop of mixed signals from the US administration. Secretary of State Marco Rubio expressed hope that Putin would attend the G-20 summit in Miami.
At the same time, Bloomberg reported that the Russian president is likely to skip the forum in the US, which Trump is expected to attend. This means that there is currently no confirmed decision on Putin's participation.
Vladimir Putin has already rejected Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky's proposal to negotiate an end to the war within the framework of the G-20 meeting. Trump, for his part, said he did not know whether the Russian leader would agree to a three-way meeting with Zelensky in Miami.
The final decision on whether Putin will attend the summit and whether his invitation will be withdrawn remains unclear.
Sources: Washington Post, Bloomberg