Russian President Vladimir Putin may find himself at the same table with his American counterpart Donald Trump again after Washington extended an invitation to Moscow to participate in the upcoming G-20 summit.
The invitation was confirmed by US Secretary of State Marco Rubio after his meeting with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov in New York. The G-20 summit itself is scheduled for December 14-15 in Miami.
Rubio said he hoped Putin would accept the invitation, stressing that such a forum would give the Russian president the opportunity to talk with both Trump and other world leaders.
The Kremlin responded positively to the American invitation. Russian President Dmitry Peskov's spokesman said that Moscow was grateful for the offer and that the issue would be discussed through diplomatic channels. There has been no official decision yet on whether Putin will personally participate in the meeting.
Putin: They tried to sabotage the elections
Against this backdrop, Putin's last confirmed public statement was on September 23. The Russian president said that Russia's opponents had tried to sabotage the country's elections.
According to him, this was done through actions that Moscow linked to attempts to breach the air defenses of Moscow and other Russian regions during the voting.
“It is well known that they tried to prevent us, to sabotage these elections“, Putin said. He added that the high turnout, in his opinion, shows that Russian society was not intimidated by such actions.
Putin also presented the election results as a sign of support for the Russian government and the military personnel participating in the war against Ukraine.
Moscow: No conditions for peace talks yet
While Washington signals the possibility of new contact between Trump and Putin, the Kremlin's position on the negotiations on Ukraine remains unchanged.
On September 23, Peskov said that according to Moscow, there are currently no prerequisites for moving to a new peace negotiation process, although Russia continues to claim that it is ready for talks.
The statement was made before the meeting between Lavrov and Rubio in New York. According to the Kremlin, the Russian side remains open to a diplomatic solution, but believes that the necessary conditions for resuming negotiations are currently lacking.
Is a new meeting possible Putin – Trump?
Separately from the invitation to the G-20, the Kremlin said that Putin and Trump remain ready for a new personal meeting if the two presidents deem it necessary.
However, according to Peskov, there is currently no specific date or format for such a meeting.
Thus, as of the morning of September 24, the diplomatic channel between Washington and Moscow remains active, but without an announced new agreement on Ukraine.
The invitation to Putin to the G-20 is the latest publicly confirmed move that could create an opportunity for a direct conversation between the Russian and American presidents.
The next key question is whether the Kremlin will accept the invitation and whether Putin's possible participation in Miami will lead to a new personal meeting with Trump.