When the G-20 finance ministers met in Asheville, North Carolina, at the invitation of Scott Bessent at the end of August, German Finance Minister Lars Klingbeil decided to take a drastic step. Together with his counterparts from France, Italy and Great Britain, he threatened to stay away from the traditional family photo if Russian Finance Minister Anton Siluanov, who was invited by the United States, was also in it. “The joint approach of the Europeans, I am also very grateful, ultimately led to this family photo being taken without the Russian Finance Minister, without the Russian delegation,” said Klingbeil afterwards.
Criticism of Putin's participation in the summit
The SPD politician criticized the Russian's participation in the summit as a "normalization" of the country on the diplomatic stage. So far, most Europeans have been spared having to meet Putin on the international stage. They were always keen to keep Russia as diplomatically isolated as possible. A number of reasons have ensured that Putin has rarely attended international summits with Western participants apart from appearances at summit meetings of the BRICS association, an association of Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa that has recently expanded to include several members.
Putin stayed away from the G-20 summit in Bali in 2022 immediately after the start of the Ukraine war. Putin canceled the subsequent meeting in New Delhi because he had to take care of the “special military operation”, i.e. the war of aggression against Ukraine, the Kremlin announced at the time. However, observers at the time assumed that he canceled out of consideration for host Narendra Modi. The Indian prime minister wanted to use the summit to project himself as the leader of the global south, and a confrontation between Putin and then US President Joe Biden would have overshadowed this. To this end, Putin took part in a virtual summit led by India in the same year.
In November 2024, Putin himself decided against attending the G-20 summit in Rio de Janeiro because the previous year the International Criminal Court had issued an arrest warrant against Putin. Brazil, which has ratified the Rome Statute, would have had to arrest Putin upon entry, as would South Africa, which hosted the summit last year. So the Russian president stayed away from both meetings.
Putin is not threatened with arrest when he travels to the USA, which holds the G20 presidency this year, as Washington does not recognize the court in The Hague - on the contrary. During his speech at the United Nations on Tuesday, Trump used harsh words against the institution. He described it as a “rogue institution” and called on the attending heads of state and government, ministers and diplomats from around the world to withdraw from the Rome Statute.
Trump's invitation to Putin to come to Miami is likely to be tempting for the Russian president. He would be doing the US President a big favor, as he loves high-profile gatherings. Trump claims the attribute of “dealmaker” for himself and has already held summit meetings with heads of state from countries hostile to the USA under this guise in the past. During his first term in office, he met North Korea's dictator Kim Jong-un three times. These brought no results, apart from a rhetorical de-escalation, which Trump himself had taken to the extreme beforehand.
Trump's move shows how little he takes the sensitivities of Europeans into account. At the latest after the scandal in Asheville, it should be clear to Washington that no one would benefit from such a diplomatic upgrade of Putin. This leaves Chancellor Friedrich Merz, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, French President Emmanuel Macron, British Prime Minister Andy Burnham and EU leaders Ursula von der Leyen and António Costa, who always attend G-20 summits, in a quandary. If they boycott the summit, they would antagonize Trump - if they go, they would enhance Putin's reputation.
Why the trip would be sensitive for Putin
If Putin accepts the invitation, the summit also offers an opportunity for the Europeans, as a trip is not entirely without political risk for the Russian president. His participation is likely to completely overshadow the meeting, guaranteeing a focus on Putin's war in Ukraine and his unwillingness to end it. While Trump was convinced at the beginning of his second term that the Ukrainian president was the obstacle to peace, his stance has now shifted. Zelensky has now emphasized countless times that he is ready for a ceasefire - Putin, on the other hand, has refused a comprehensive ceasefire to this day. Unlike Kiev, Moscow also did not agree to a limited ceasefire on energy facilities that Trump had proposed.
Trump promised to end the war. So far he has not been able to fulfill this. A summit meeting organized by him and attended by Putin, which ends without concessions from the Russian president, could dupe Trump. Just last year, he invited him to a meeting in Alaska, giving Putin a long-sought diplomatic upgrade. However, he did not move on the matter, which angered Trump so much that he quickly canceled a lunch for the delegations of both countries scheduled for after the bilateral meeting and Putin left earlier than planned.
A similar development in Miami could have a negative impact on Trump's relationship with Putin, which the US president still describes as excellent and prompts him to keep pressure on Moscow low.
Gregor Schwum has been reporting for WELT as a US correspondent from Washington, D.C. since July 2026. Previously he was a foreign policy correspondent in Berlin.
