The U.S. has criticized Trump's decision to invite Putin to the G20 summit — WSJ

The American media consider U.S. President Donald Trump’s decision to invite Russian leader Vladimir Putin to the G20 summit, which will take place in Florida in December, to be morally offensive. The Wall Street Journal views this decision as one that could be seen as a kind of blessing for Russia’s continued aggression against NATO.

As the publication notes, Putin has effectively remained isolated from the West since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine began in 2022. Therefore, according to the WSJ editorial board, participation in the international summit could provide the Kremlin with an opportunity to demonstrate to the Russian public that Putin has returned to the circle of world leaders.

“An invitation from the U.S. would give the Russian leader a chance to show Russians in photos that he is no longer an outcast on the world stage,” the article states.

Journalists speculate that Trump may view Putin’s return to international diplomacy as a way to create additional conditions for ending the war in Ukraine. At the same time, the authors of the article recall the previous meeting between the two presidents at a bilateral summit in Alaska in August 2025, after which Putin did not change his course of action regarding the war.

Meanwhile, as the WSJ notes, fears are growing in Europe regarding Russia’s future actions against NATO member states. In particular, the journalists mention an incident at Leipzig Airport in Germany in August, where a drone carrying explosives could have posed a danger to people. A tragedy was averted at that time because the explosive device malfunctioned.

This week, the Danish Military Intelligence Service also warned that Russia may test NATO’s readiness to respond with a “limited military” attack in the coming months. The agency noted that the goal of such a move could be to weaken European support for Ukraine and create a rift within the Alliance.

The Wall Street Journal notes that the Danish warning is not an isolated incident: similar signals have recently come from other high-ranking European officials. According to the authors, U.S. lawmakers have also heard similar assessments during classified briefings from U.S. intelligence officials.

Against this backdrop, the editorial raises the question of how Washington would react in the event of a Russian attack on a NATO member state.

“Inviting a dictator to the G-20 summit is morally offensive. Worse still, it could lead the Russian leader to believe that a deliberate attack on NATO would go unpunished,” the journalists emphasize.

The Wall Street Journal writes about this in an editorial.
 

Polish President Nawrocki will attend the G20 despite Putin’s invitation — Notes from Poland.

U.S. senators have questioned Putin’s invitation to the G20 — Anadolu Agency.