The G20 Miami summit is set to take place at Trump National Doral Golf Course and will focus on "unleashing economic prosperity by eliminating burdensome regulations, unlocking affordable energy and pioneering new technologies," according to President Trump's words.
Amazingly and quite surprisingly, the Russian Foreign Ministry has announced Russia has been invited to take part "at the highest level" - meaning President Vladimir Putin has been invited, per the Kremlin. The actual date is still far away, slated for Dec. 14-15, 2026.
But the fact that this has hit The Washington Post is sure to seriously raise eyebrows among European allies, as well as evoke the ire of Democrats in the US.
"President Trump has been clear that Russia is welcome to attend all G20 meetings as the United States focuses on delivering a successful and productive summit," a Kremlin spokesperson said in response to the alleged invitation. Here's what the Washington Post freshly reported:
The United States intends to invite Russian President Vladimir Putin to the Group of 20 leaders’ summit scheduled for December at President Donald Trump’s Doral golf resort in Miami, though the invitation has not yet been sent, administration officials said Thursday.
Moscow's statements could be in response to what thus far has been only an informal or verbal invite, or in response to the emerging reports this week.
Russia's Deputy Foreign Minister Alexander Pankin told journalists at the UN Headquarters that Moscow will confirm who it will send at a later date.
Europe would certainly receive it as a shock and surprise, given that Putin is directly banned from entering most European countries, given the International Criminal Court arrest warrant against him.
Trump on Thursday had told reporters that he was unaware of any personal invitation to Putin but did stipulate that it would be "probably very helpful" if the Russian leader attended.
Trump as of Thursday at the Oval Office:
Putin did of course travel to American soil for the Alaska summit at Trump's personal invitation in August 2025, hoping to forge some kind of breakthrough toward Ukraine peace. But direct negotiations with the Zelensky government proved elusive and is now frozen as a possibility.
Russia remains officially part of the G20, but the last time Putin attended the summit was all the way back in 2019, in Osaka, Japan. Since the Ukraine war started, Putin's travel has been limited mostly to the Asian continent.