By Guy Faulconbridge and Humeyra Pamuk
MOSCOW/WASHINGTON, April 24 (Reuters) - Russian President Vladimir Putin could travel to the G20 summit in Miami in December, the Kremlin said on Friday after U.S. President Donald Trump suggested it would be very helpful if he did attend and that it had been a mistake to expel Russia from the G8.
The United States has invited Russia to the annual meeting of Group of 20 countries that Washington is holding this year in Miami, and Moscow has accepted the invitation,
a U.S. official familiar with the matter said on Friday.
Putin has not attended a G20 summit since 2019 due to the COVID pandemic and then Russia's 2022 invasion of Ukraine which triggered the biggest crisis in relations between Moscow and the West since the depths of the Cold War.
"President Putin may go to Miami as a member of the G20, or he may not go, or another Russian representative may go," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told state television correspondent Pavel Zarubin.
MOSCOW SAYS IT SEES G20 AS VERY IMPORTANT
The Washington Post reported on Thursday that Trump intended to invite Putin to the summit, though he later told reporters that he did not know of the invitation or if Putin was coming or not.
A senior administration official said no formal invitations had been issued at this time. "But Russia is a G20 member and will be invited to attend ministerial meetings and the leaders’ summit," the official, speaking on the condition of anonymity, said.
Russia would in any case be represented properly at the summit, Peskov said, adding that Moscow viewed the G20 as very important given the crises that were emerging across the world.
The Kremlin said last year that it agreed with Trump that it had been a mistake to kick Russia out of the Group of Eight in 2014 but that the G7 was no longer significant for Russia and looked "rather useless".
Russia has been invited to take part in the G20 in Miami at the top level, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Alexander Pankin was quoted as saying by Russian news agencies.
PUTIN IN MIAMI?
Trump, speaking to reporters on Thursday, said that Putin had been very offended to be kicked out of the G8.
"He was very offended by that. I'd venture to say you probably wouldn't be having these problems if you didn't throw him out," Trump said. "I'm of the opinion that you talk to everybody."
Trump added that he doubted Putin would come to the G20.
"I doubt he'd come, to be honest with you. I sort of doubt he'd come," Trump said, adding that he was seeking to end the Ukraine war.
Since starting his second term in office, Trump has adopted a more friendly attitude towards Russia and has also blamed Kyiv for the war. Most recently, the U.S. extended waivers to buy Russian oil without facing sanctions.
Trump has a history of positive and admiring comments about Putin that have long prompted criticism that he is "soft on Russia". He rejects that, saying that no U.S. president was ever tougher on Moscow.
"As a member of the G20, Russia has been invited to all working-level meetings to date. President Trump has been clear that Russia is welcome to attend all G20 meetings as the United States focuses on delivering a successful and productive summit," a State Department spokesperson said on Thursday.
(Reporting by Maxim Rodionov; Writing by Anna Peverieri; Editing by Andrew Osborn and Alison Williams)
