US Secretary of State Marco Rubio defended the decision to include Russia in the 2026 G20 meetings after the EU and allies criticized it, according to the Straits Times. Speaking on Oct 31 after a two-day G20 foreign ministers meeting in Atlanta, Rubio said dialogue is the only way to end the war in Ukraine.
The criticism was sharp. According to the Straits Times, the US scrapped a traditional "family photo" after some officials, including those from the EU, Germany, Poland and Canada, refused to pose with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov. Rubio said he held no formal bilateral talks with Lavrov, though the two were photographed speaking at a reception on Oct 30.
EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said that Russian President Vladimir Putin’s potential attendance at the G20 leaders’ summit in Miami in December would risk normalising Russia’s return to international forums, the Straits Times reported. Trump has invited Putin to the Florida meeting, but the Kremlin has yet to say whether he will accept.
Canadian Foreign Affairs Minister Anita Anand said Russia "has isolated itself" and called its conduct contrary to international law, according to the Straits Times.
SCMP reported that Rubio urged G20 members to strengthen supply chains and secure trade routes, citing a "universal recognition" of the importance of critical minerals and freedom of navigation.
The invasion of Ukraine began more than four years ago, and the war has reportedly killed more than a million people. Many leaders were also unhappy when Trump announced in October that he would waive some tariffs and sanctions on Russia as part of a deal allowing Russian diesel exports.
Whether Putin accepts the invitation to the December summit in Miami remains undecided. Rubio also floated a possible Trump-Putin meeting at the APEC summit in Shenzhen in November, but no other source confirms that meeting.
The account has gaps. The Kremlin has not responded on Putin’s attendance. The Straits Times article is a Bloomberg report, and no independent second account of the reception or plenary sessions is available. SCMP reports that the ministers stopped short of calling out China, and no Chinese government response is included. NPR World provided only a headline and short excerpt, so its account is limited. Details of a Japanese journalist detained in Russia, raised at Lavrov’s meeting with Japanese Foreign Minister Motegi, are not in the sources.
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This article was written with AI assistance from the published reporting listed above. It is part of the World Brief daily news podcast.