U.S. President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin may interact at next month’s Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit in Shenzhen, China, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Saturday.
Rubio said he briefly raised the possibility with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov during the Group of 20 foreign ministers’ gathering in Atlanta. He said their exchange did not amount to a formal meeting. “We spoke just briefly about the opportunity for our leaders to potentially interact at APEC next month,” Rubio said at a news conference.
Lavrov had described the contact as a “decent talk” a day earlier, AFP reported. EconoTimes previously covered Lavrov’s description of the exchange.
Rubio said the United States was prepared to help mediate an end to the Russia-Ukraine war and needed to communicate with both sides. “To play that role, we have to have the ability to communicate with both sides,” he said, citing the danger of escalation involving Russia’s nuclear weapons.
AFP reported that Trump had invited Putin to the G20 leaders’ summit planned for December in Miami. The ministerial’s customary group photo was canceled Friday after European officials objected to being pictured with Lavrov, AFP reported. Lavrov’s presence had heightened tensions among European countries, while Russia has faced widespread Western ostracism since its 2022 invasion of Ukraine, the report said.
The APEC summit is scheduled for mid-November in Shenzhen. The G20 leaders’ summit is planned for December in Miami.
