US senators push Trump to rescind Putin's invitation to G20 summit
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A bipartisan group of U.S. senators are urging President Donald Trump to withdraw an invitation extended to Russian President Vladimir Putin to attend the upcoming G20 summit in Miami.
The signatories, members of the Armed Services and Foreign Relations committees, warned that allowing Putin to attend could risk "legitimizing and normalizing a government that continues to attack Ukrainian civilian targets every day," according to The Washington Post.
Republican Sen. Roger Wicker, chair of the Senate Armed Services Committee, and Democratic Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, ranking member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, led the letter, which was also signed by six additional Democrats and six Republicans.
The senators referenced the fact that Putin, Russian Finance Minister Anton Siluanov, and other members of Moscow's delegation are under U.S. sanctions, and argued that easing Putin's diplomatic isolation could reduce pressure on Moscow to agree to a ceasefire in Ukraine.
The invitation was announced on Sept. 23, when Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Putin had been invited to the summit as part of an effort to give him opportunities to engage with Trump and other world leaders.
Putin's possible attendance has particular significance as the G20 has repeatedly become a forum for debate over Russia's war against Ukraine.
At the 2025 G20 summit in Johannesburg, Western leaders said a U.S.-backed peace framework contained "important elements" but required additional work, citing concerns that some provisions could leave Ukraine vulnerable to future Russian attacks.
Zelensky said earlier this month that he would be prepared to travel to the Miami summit and meet Putin there if the Russian leader attends.
Siluanov attended a G20 finance ministers meeting in North Carolina last month, drawing criticism from some U.S. senators and European officials.
