US senators urge Trump to withdraw Putin's invitation to G20 summit

A bipartisan group of 14 US senators has sent a letter to President Donald Trump urging him to withdraw the invitation extended to Russian President Vladimir Putin for the G20 leaders' summit scheduled for December in Miami. The Washington Post reported the letter's contents.

In the letter, the senators state that Putin bears sole responsibility for Russia's full-scale war of aggression against Ukraine. They warn that his participation in a G20 summit on US soil risks legitimizing and normalizing a government that continues to strike civilian targets in Ukraine on a daily basis.

Sanctions concerns

The senators point out that Putin, Russian Finance Minister Anton Siluanov, and other members of the Russian delegation are already under US sanctions over actions considered threats to national security. They argue that without international isolation, Putin may have less incentive to agree to a ceasefire with Ukraine.

Background

A day before the letter emerged, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said he hoped Putin would attend the G20 summit in Miami. However, Bloomberg reported that Putin is likely to skip the summit, which President Trump is also expected to attend. It also recently emerged that Putin rejected a proposal from Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to hold talks on ending the war on the sidelines of the summit. Trump himself has said he does not know whether Putin would agree to a three-way meeting with Zelensky in Miami.