Moscow Says Washington Wants Putin in Miami for December G20

Washington wants Vladimir Putin in Miami. Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Alexander Pankin told TASS on Saturday that the United States has repeatedly signaled it would like to see the Russian president at December's G20 summit, according to Breaking The News.

Pankin played it cool. He called the request normal and squarely in line with what the US owes as chair of the summit, and said Russia plans to show up and participate actively. As for who exactly walks into the room, Moscow will settle that the day before, following its usual practice. Whoever gets the nod, Pankin insisted Russia will be represented at a high level.

The invite chatter lands in the middle of a diplomatic scramble. President Donald Trump told reporters he believes Russia and Ukraine want to end the war for the first time, teasing what he called a very big settlement that would stretch across all of Europe. He mentioned meetings and phone calls already underway, with more talks set for Monday and Tuesday.

The Kremlin isn't showing its hand yet. Presidential spokesperson Dmitry Peskov told reporters there are no details on the peace agreement Trump described, leaving open what stage any plan is actually at.

There's more traffic on the Moscow line. Britain's Telegraph reported that Russia and Iran are discussing a supply of advanced S-400 air defense systems to Tehran, citing an Iranian official, after Iran's security chief Mohsen Rezaei met Putin in Moscow. The two also touched on a proposed Russia-Iran gas pipeline, per that report.

For now, the headline item is the summit. If Putin does turn up in Miami, it would put him in the same room as the US president's team months into a very public push for peace.