The Kremlin has responded to the invitiation the US has extended to Russian President Vladimir Putin to attend the upcoming G20 summit in Miami, Florida in December.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio confirmed earlier today that Washington had invited Putin to attend the gathering.

Russia is “grateful and appreciative,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told told RIA Novosti on Wednesday night.

Peskov added that a decision on Putin’s possible attendance will be made and relayed through diplomatic channels.

The summit is scheduled for December 14-15 in Miami, with US President Donald Trump set to host it at his Doral golf resort. Putin has not attended a G20 summit in person since 2019, initially because of the pandemic and later amid the fallout from the escalation of the Ukraine conflict in 2022.

Moscow said earlier that Russia will be represented at the summit at a high level but it remains unclear whether Putin plans to attend personally.

Speaking to journalists earlier on Wednesday, Rubio expressed his hope that the Russian president would arrive for the summit. “We hope that’s an invitation he’ll accept. There’s an opportunity in December if that happens.”

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