Former US Congressman Kucinich Urges Trump to Invite Putin to G20 Summit

WASHINGTON, September 4. /TASS/. Dennis Kucinich, a former member of the US House of Representatives, expressed hope that US President Donald Trump would send an invitation to the G20 summit to Russian President Vladimir Putin.

"Since President Vladimir Putin has already extended the olive branch fully, it would, I think, be appropriate for President Trump to reciprocate by immediately inviting President Vladimir Putin to the G20 summit here in the United States," he said, referring to Putin’s declared readiness to restore full-format relations with Washington.

"I would hope that President Trump, who seems to have been at times quite congenial to having better relations with Russia, would extend an invitation to President Vladimir Putin of Russia as a continuation of a program of embracing the leaders of our countries for the purposes of peace and of economic progress," said Kucinich, who served as a US Representative from Ohio in 1997-2013.

"We need our leaders to be with each other, to be talking to each other, to be able to exchange ideas with each other," he continued. "Russia must be involved in all discussions of the G20. These are issues that involve not only economics but national security as well.

Trump told the GB News TV channel in an interview that he had not considered an invitation to Putin.

In late April, The Washington Post, citing sources in the US State Department, reported that Trump is considering inviting Putin to the G20 summit. The event will be held in Miami, Florida, on December 14-15. Trump later told journalists that the presence of the Russian president at the upcoming G20 summit in the United States in December would be very useful.

In July, in response to a TASS reporter’s question, Russian Presidential Press Secretary Dmitry Peskov said that Russia will be represented at the summit at a high level.