Lucrezia Ciotti New diplomatic signals are emerging between the US and Russia, while the issue of the war in Ukraine remains unresolved. Washington has invited Vladimir Putin to the upcoming G20 summit in Miami, scheduled for December, but comments from Moscow confirm the difficulties on the path to possible negotiations. The confrontation between Marco Rubio and Sergei Lavrov has also brought the possibility of a truce in the energy and grain sectors back to the forefront.
Putin invited to the G20 in Miami: Rubio focuses on dialogue with Moscow
The United States has invited Vladimir Putin to the next G20 summit, scheduled for Miami in December . The announcement came from U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, following his meeting in New York with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly.
Washington sees the summit as a potential forum for direct dialogue between the Russian president, Donald Trump, and other international leaders. " To resolve issues, you need to meet with people you disagree with or may have differences with. That's why we invited President Putin to the G20 ," Rubio explained, adding: " We believe it's an opportunity for him to engage not only with the President, but also with other world leaders."
We hope he will accept the invitation ." The summit is scheduled for December in Miami and Putin's possible participation could therefore offer a new opportunity for direct contact between Moscow and Washington.
Lavrov opens to negotiations but rules out a pause in the war: Moscow's position
On the war in Ukraine, however, positions remain distant. Sergei Lavrov reiterated that Moscow is willing to discuss a diplomatic solution, but does not intend to suspend military operations during any negotiations. Russia , the Foreign Minister stated, " is ready to negotiate to achieve a just and lasting peace , " but " having learned from hard experience, it will not suspend the special military operation for the duration of the negotiations , whatever format they take ."
Lavrov then insisted that " there will be no pause in the special military operation , " accusing European countries of using any suspension of fighting to supply Ukraine with weapons. At the same time, Rubio reported that Russia and Ukraine would be interested in a truce on grain and energy , but clarified that the two energy fronts are different: for Moscow, they mainly concern refineries and gas, while for Kiev the issue primarily concerns the electricity grid.
" An energy truce is difficult, but we will try ," Rubio declared. Meanwhile, from the Kremlin, spokesman Dmitry Peskov stated that "At the moment, there are no prerequisites for starting peace negotiations " with Ukraine, while maintaining that Russia " remains open to such negotiations ."