US invites Putin to G20 summit
According to Secretary of State Marco Rubio, the US administration has invited Russian President Vladimir Putin to the G20 summit in Miami in December. "In order to solve problems, you have to meet with the people that you disagree with," he said. The EU has said it does not intend to boycott the summit, pointing out that it wants a say in any peace deal for Ukraine.
If Volodymyr goes, Vladimir won't
The Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung explains why the Kremlin is still hesitating over accepting the invitation:
“From Russia's point of view there is a problem here: the possibility that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky might also be invited to Florida. Putin has categorically ruled out any meeting with him. If he faced the risk of an unavoidable encounter with the Ukrainian, Putin would probably back out and decline the invitation.”
From ally to mediator
La Stampa concludes:
“Despite Zelensky's bilateral meeting with Trump, American support seems to be a remote prospect, overshadowed by the demand to halt attacks on Russian refineries deep within the country, and even more so by the invitation to Putin to attend the G20 summit in Miami on 18 and 19 December. This summit of leaders could, however, now be the opportunity, evoked as crucial, for reaching an agreement. Diplomatically speaking, however, this means that Washington is acting as a mediator rather than as Kyiv's ally. The idea of forcing Russia to accept a just peace through sanctions and damage to its energy infrastructure is, in effect, being shelved.”
Signs of rapprochement between Trump and Zelensky
Donald Trump's view of Volodymyr Zelensky has changed significantly, Mariia Shyriaieva writes on the Facebook page of the Foreign Policy Council Ukrainian Prism:
“The most striking difference lies precisely in the tone and rhetoric of the conversation. In February 2025, the public part of the meeting in the Oval Office was downright confrontational: the remark at the time – 'You don't have the cards right now' – and the pressure to reach an agreement without clear security guarantees epitomised the deep rift in the dialogue between Kyiv and Washington. In autumn 2026, however, the tone is quite different. Trump has publicly acknowledged the Ukrainian president's courage and the combat effectiveness of his army. ... What was left unsaid is also telling: there were no public demands for a unilateral halt to attacks on Russian oil refineries – even though, on the eve of the meeting, Trump had publicly called on Ukraine to cease strikes on Russian fuel facilities.”