Bipartisan senators urge Trump to withdraw Putin’s invitation to G20 summit
WASHINGTON, DC: Fourteen senators, an even split between Republicans and Democrats, sent a letter to President Donald Trump this week.
They urged him not to invite Russian President Vladimir Putin to the upcoming G20 summit in Miami. The senators warned that allowing Putin to attend would legitimize Moscow while its war in Ukraine continues.
Senators cite sanctions and diplomatic leverage
Senators Roger Wicker, who chairs the Senate Armed Services Committee, and Jeanne Shaheen, the leading Democrat on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, spearheaded the effort.
On the Republican side, Mitch McConnell, John Cornyn, Jerry Moran, Alan Armstrong, Thom Tillis, and John Curtis joined them. Among Democrats, Sheldon Whitehouse, Michael Bennet, Chris Coons, Richard Blumenthal, Tim Kaine, and Ruben Gallego also took part.
“President Putin bears sole responsibility for launching Russia’s full-scale war of aggression against Ukraine,” the lawmakers wrote in a letter to President Trump. “Allowing him to participate in a G20 Summit in the United States raises serious concerns about legitimizing and normalizing a government that continues to attack Ukrainian civilian targets every day.”
The senators also pointed to US sanctions targeting Putin, Russian Finance Minister Anton Siluanov, and other members of Moscow’s delegation over conduct that the United States has determined poses a national security threat.
They further argued that welcoming Putin to an international gathering of world leaders could undercut efforts to pressure him into reaching a ceasefire with Ukraine, contending that Moscow has less reason to change course if Putin is not diplomatically isolated.
The letter also cited the recently passed Russia-Iran sanctions bill, named for former Sen Lindsey Graham (R-SC), who was one of the staunchest defenders of Ukraine in the Senate before his death in July.
That bill increased sanctions on Russia, hoping to squeeze it economically as its aggression in Ukraine continues four years after invading that country.
Administration signals openness to Putin's attendance
Secretary of State Marco Rubio revealed on Wednesday that Putin had been invited to attend the summit, which will be held at Trump National Doral golf course, describing the gathering as “an opportunity for him to engage not just with the president but with other world leaders.”
US special envoy Steve Witkoff and the president’s son-in-law, Jared Kushner, traveled to Moscow earlier this month in an attempt to restart peace talks with Ukraine, with the war now in its fifth year.
Witkoff came across as genuinely warm at the meeting. He thanked the Russian leader for hosting him and said their time together would top his list of stories to share once he retires.
The G20 Leaders' Summit, which brings together countries accounting for about 85% of the world’s economic output and more than half its people, is slated for December at Trump’s Doral resort in Miami.
The pushback on this decision isn’t just coming from Democrats; senior Republicans who don’t usually criticize Trump are speaking out, too. This shows the GOP still stands by Ukraine, even as some Republicans have started to challenge certain administration choices, especially with Trump’s approval ratings slipping.
