US invites Putin to December G20 meeting

The United States has invited Russian President Vladimir Putin ⁠to a December G20 meeting in Miami, Florida where he could hold a summit with President Donald Trump, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said.

The Kremlin said Russia would consider the invitation.

Mr Rubio, speaking after meeting Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly, said the US ‌remained open to ⁠engaging with Russia on the war in Ukraine, despite stalled efforts to bring an end to the conflict.

"We've invited President Putin to the G20. We think it’s an opportunity for him to engage not just ‌with the president but with other world leaders. We hope that’s an invitation he’ll accept," Mr Rubio ⁠said.

Mr Putin and Mr Trump met in Anchorage, Alaska in ‌August last year, but Mr Putin has not visited the lower ⁠48 ‌states since before Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

Russian news agencies quoted Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskovas saying that Russia was "grateful and appreciative for this invitation".

"We ⁠will make a decision and work through it via diplomatic channels," he ⁠added.

Mr Rubio also said Mr Trump could potentially meet again with China's President Xi Jinping - who has arrived in Washington for a state visit - at the G20 summit as well as at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation meeting in Shenzhen.

It comes as Russian strikes on logistics and infrastructure across Ukraine killed at least seven people on Wednesday, including two in Kyiv in the latest in a surge of daytime drone attacks on the capital.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky warned Moscow that Ukraine would strike back and make the coming winter deeply painful for Russia, if the two sides cannot agree a truce on energy attacks before the cold sets in.

Ukraine and its allies are racing to secure limited agreements on energy infrastructure and Black Sea shipping before winter, fearing renewed Russian strikes on power and heating facilities, while Moscow continues to show little interest in wider negotiations to end the war.

"Ukrainians understand that this winter could be very harsh for us. But in response, we will have no choice but to make it painful for Russia too," Mr Zelensky told the UN General Assembly during the annual gathering of world leaders in New York.

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