Trump invites Putin to G20 in Miami in December, while Rubio pushes for energy ceasefire

President Donald Trump has invited his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, to attend the G20 summit to be held in Miami in December by Secretary of State Marco Rubio, in a move aimed at facilitating an agreement to end Russia's war against Ukraine.

"In order to solve problems, you have to meet with the people that you disagree with or the people that you might have some issues with," Rubio told reporters in New York. "So 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," the Secretary of State added.

Rubio made these remarks shortly after meeting with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov at a New York hotel on the sidelines of the 81st UN General Assembly. The meeting took place hours before Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky's scheduled address to the United Nations.

Rubio pushes for an energy ceasefire

The Secretary of State encouraged Moscow and Kyiv to reach an energy ceasefire. While this would not end the war, it could create a platform for a broader agreement, he noted. The Secretary of State said both sides have expressed interest in a limited ceasefire involving energy.

Zelensky has told reporters that Ukraine is willing to halt attacks on Russian energy sites if Moscow does the same, after Trump asked him to stop attacking diesel refineries.

After meeting with Trump on Tuesday, Zelensky said that Washington and Kyiv want the war with Russia to end "before winter."

Lavrov: "There will be no pause" in the war

In his address to the UN Security Council, Lavrov stated that Moscow will not halt its more than four-year war against Ukraine. "We are not going to pause our special military operation," he declared, accusing Europe of wanting to use a ceasefire to "flood the Kyiv regime with weapons."

Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andriy Sybiga, who spoke after Lavrov, responded that his Russian counterpart's comment "says it all." "Russia's war against Europe is no longer hybrid. Instead of safeguarding peace, Russia is escalating the war. That is everyone's problem," Sybiga added.