The Wall Street Journal’s editorial board called Trump’s invitation for Vladimir Putin to attend December’s G20 summit “morally offensive,” warning it could rehabilitate him and lead him to believe a targeted attack on NATO might go unpunished.
The summit is scheduled for December at Trump National Doral in Miami. The board said Putin’s attendance would give him a photo opportunity to show Russians he was no longer a global pariah, even as Russia’s war on Ukraine continues. It also cited Western intelligence warnings that Russia is escalating its “hybrid war” against NATO countries.
The board rejected the argument that elevating Putin internationally could persuade him to end the war, pointing to the conflict’s continuation after Trump’s 2025 summit with him in Alaska. Republican senators expressed “serious concern” in a letter to Trump last week; German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul said Putin’s attendance could offer a chance to begin “serious negotiations” to end the conflict.
