Russian President Vladimir Putin "may or may not" attend the G20 summit in Miami in December, the Kremlin said on Friday, as Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy pursued a diplomatic offensive in Saudi Arabia after securing a major EU loan.
Zelenskyy arrived in Jeddah on Friday, where he said he held a "very productive meeting" with Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. "There is a strategic security arrangement that we are actively developing across three key areas," Zelenskyy wrote on social media: export of Ukrainian air defense expertise, energy cooperation, and food security.
Accompanied by Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha and national security adviser Rustem Umerov, Zelenskyy made his second visit to Saudi Arabia in weeks. "Today, we are advancing our agreements with Saudi Arabia in the areas of security, energy, and infrastructure," he said, praising "substantive cooperation" between the two countries.
Since the US-Israeli war with Iran and Iranian drone strikes on US allies in the Middle East, Ukraine has offered Gulf states its anti-drone warfare expertise in exchange for support against the Russian invasion. "It is important that the strengthening is mutual," Zelenskyy said, noting Russia's efforts to restore its diplomatic standing with US help.
Reuters reported, citing a US official, that Russia accepted an invitation to the G20 meeting hosted by Washington in Miami. A State Department spokesperson said Russia was welcome at all G20 meetings. However, Putin has not attended a G20 summit since 2019 due to the pandemic and diplomatic isolation after the 2022 invasion, though he met Trump in Alaska in August 2025.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said: "President Putin may go to Miami as a member of the G20, or he may not go. Or another Russian representative may go." Trump said Putin's attendance would be "helpful" and that expelling Russia from the G8 was a mistake.
With the Trump administration appearing increasingly sympathetic to Russia, Ukraine has boosted diplomatic ties in the Middle East and Europe. After the electoral defeat of Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, Budapest dropped its veto on a €90 billion EU loan to Kyiv, formally approved on Thursday.
"This money is for our army, and we are ready to buy weapons with it, including air defense," Zelenskyy said, also reiterating his call for full EU membership. European Council chief Antonio Costa praised Kyiv's reforms but cautioned that membership negotiations are "a long process, a very hard one." German Chancellor Friedrich Merz also ruled out fast-track accession.
The Russian economy contracted by 1.8% in the first two months of 2026, Putin admitted. The central bank cut its interest rate to 14.5%. Inflation officially exceeds 5%, but Russians feel the effects of war, especially in rising basic goods prices. Ukrainian drone attacks on Russian oil infrastructure continue to take a toll.
Russia and Ukraine conducted a prisoner swap of 193 soldiers each. Meanwhile, two senior Ukrainian officers were removed from their posts for falsifying battlefield reports and failing to ensure adequate supplies to front-line troops, after reports emerged of soldiers fainting from hunger.
Source: www.dw.com