Rubio says Trump and Putin could meet at APEC summit in November

In brief

• US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said a brief talk with Russia's Sergei Lavrov covered a possible Trump–Putin meeting.
• Rubio pointed to the APEC summit on 18–19 November in China as a possible setting, while stressing no meeting is confirmed.
• European officials say Rubio privately doubts Putin will attend the December G20 summit in Miami or accept any Ukraine deal before spring 2027.

Possible meeting on the APEC sidelines

Rubio told reporters that his short conversation with Lavrov centered on whether Trump and Putin might sit down together (Трамп і Путін можуть зустрітися в листопаді: Рубіо розкрив деталі – TSN) (Рубіо розповів, коли можуть відбутися нові переговори між Трампом і Путіним – UNIAN). In his account, the two presidents could meet during the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit, which is scheduled for 18–19 November in China. He made clear that talking about the option is not the same as a confirmed meeting.

Doubts about the G20 summit in Miami

Rubio also addressed whether Putin would attend the G20 leaders' summit in Miami in December. He said he did not know if the Russian president would travel there. The Trump administration has publicly invited Putin to the Miami summit, while Rubio privately told Western diplomats in recent days that he doubts Putin will take part, according to European officials cited by Radio Liberty correspondent Alex Raufoglu (Війна затягнеться до 2027 року: що Рубіо сказав європейським дипломатам – TSN) (У Білому домі не вірять, що Путін погодиться на мир до весни, - ЗМІ – UNIAN).

Doubts about a near-term peace deal

The same European officials said Rubio did not expect Putin to agree to any deal on Ukraine before spring 2027. Rubio also described the idea of Ukraine joining NATO as a security guarantee as unrealistic in the short term, according to the same sources.

Context

Earlier, Trump said an agreement to end the war in Ukraine was getting closer. The latest remarks suggest that Washington's public signals about diplomacy with Moscow are not matched by expectations of quick results in private.

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