U.S. Senators Urge Trump to Rescind Putin’s Invitation to the G20 Summit

A bipartisan group of U.S. senators has called on President Donald Trump to rescind the invitation to Russian President Vladimir Putin for the G20 summit to be held in Miami, as The Kyiv Independent reports.

The letter is led by Republican Senator Roger Wicker, chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, and Democratic Senator Jeanne Shaheen, ranking member of the Foreign Relations Committee. The letter is also signed by six other Democrats and six other Republicans.

The senators warn that Putin’s participation in the summit would risk “legitimizing and normalizing a government that continues to attack Ukrainian civilian targets every day,” writes The Washington Post. According to them, easing Putin’s diplomatic isolation could reduce pressure on Moscow to agree to a ceasefire in Ukraine.

The letter also notes that Putin, Russian Finance Minister Anton Siluanov, and other members of the Russian delegation are under U.S. sanctions, which makes their presence on American soil even more controversial.

The invitation was announced on September 23 by Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who presented it as an opportunity for Putin to engage with Trump and other world leaders during the summit.

The context is special: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said earlier this month he would be ready to travel to the Miami summit and meet Putin there, if the Russian leader attends.