Republicans and Democrats Unite to Call on Trump to Keep Putin Out of G20

AP Photo/Jae C. Hong, File

A group of Republican and Democratic senators is pushing President Donald Trump to keep Russian President Vladimir Putin away from the upcoming G20 summit in Miami, arguing his presence would give legitimacy to Moscow as its war in Ukraine continues.

Fourteen senators — seven Republicans and seven Democrats — signed a letter to Trump Thursday night opposing Putin’s participation in the December gathering, according to a Friday report from The Washington Post. 

Sens. Roger Wicker (R-MS), chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, and Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), the ranking Democrat on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, led the effort.

Six additional senators from each party signed their names as well, including Sens. Mitch McConnell (R-KY), John Cornyn (R-TX), Jerry Moran (R-KS), Alan Armstrong (R-OK), Thom Tillis (R-NC), John Curtis (R-UT), Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), Michael Bennet (D-CO), Chris Coons (D-DE), Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), Tim Kaine (D-VA), and Ruben Gallego (D-AZ).

“President Putin bears sole responsibility for launching Russia’s full-scale war of aggression against Ukraine,” the lawmakers wrote. “Allowing him to participate in a G20 Summit in the United States raises serious concerns about legitimizing and normalizing a government that continues to attack Ukrainian civilian targets every day.”

The senators also pointed to U.S. sanctions targeting Putin, Russian Finance Minister Anton Siluanov, and other members of Moscow’s delegation over conduct that the United States has determined poses a national security threat.

They further argued that welcoming Putin to an international gathering of world leaders could undercut efforts to pressure him into reaching a ceasefire with Ukraine, contending that Moscow has less reason to change course if Putin is not diplomatically isolated.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio revealed on Wednesday that Putin had been invited to attend the summit, which will be held at Trump National Doral golf course, describing the gathering as “an opportunity for him to engage not just with the president but with other world leaders.”

U.S. special envoy Steve Witkoff and the president’s son-in-law, Jared Kushner, traveled to Moscow earlier this month in an attempt to restart peace talks with Ukraine, with the war now in its fifth year.

Witkoff struck a notably warm tone during the meeting, though, thanking the Russian leader for hosting him and saying the memories of their meetings would be “right at the top” of the stories he would tell after retiring.

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