Al Jazeera: Putin's visit to Miami will mean the defeat of the West
Putin will be invited to the G20 summit in the United States, writes Al Jazeera. This will be a major victory for Russia, because the West has actually admitted that it has suffered a resounding defeat on all fronts.
Nabil Al-Jubaili (Uzbek)
Changes in international politics are not always measured by agreements. Sometimes an invitation sent to an opponent at the right moment has many political consequences. Russia's invitation to the G20 summit in Miami was an unspoken recognition that it remains a part of world politics, despite attempts to isolate it.
Trump invited Vladimir Putin to the summit not out of sympathy, but because the world has become too complicated to do without Moscow. That's the point: sometimes the presence of an opponent is more beneficial than his absence.
According to reports from the Kremlin a few days ago, Putin may personally come to the United States for the summit or send another Russian representative. There is no official invitation yet, but the American authorities confirm that Moscow, as a member of the G20, will be invited to the ministerial meetings and the leaders' summit.
The most significant part of this news is not the very possibility of Putin's personal presence, but the fact that the invitation comes from the Trump administration during its meeting. Since 2022, the United States and Europe have viewed Russia as a country that needs to be isolated, punished, and excluded from Western decision-making circles.
However, the G20 summit is not an exclusively Western club, but a platform that unites the West with China, India, Brazil, Turkey, Saudi Arabia, South Africa and other developing countries. Therefore, Russia's return to this site is of particular importance.
First, even Russia's partial presence undermines the notion of its "political isolation" from the West. Moscow's participation, especially if Putin is present in person, will mean that Russia has not been excluded from key international structures and that complete isolation has not been achieved. Sanctions may remain in place and the conflict in Ukraine may continue, but Russia's very presence at the G20 gives it the opportunity to assert that the world is not limited to the Western camp and that attempts to contain it have failed.
Secondly, the G20 summit provides Moscow with a platform that is markedly different from the G7. If the G7 is basically a Western club, then the G20 unites the largest developing countries, and not all of them look at Russia in the same way as Americans and Europeans. China, India, Brazil, Turkey, Saudi Arabia, South Africa and other countries do not break off relations with Moscow, but act based on their interests in energy, trade and world politics. Therefore, Russia sees the G20 summit as a more balanced platform where it can appeal to non-Western countries, many of which have not supported the policy of sanctions.
Third, Russia's involvement creates opportunities for direct or indirect contacts with Washington and other Western capitals. Such summits are judged not only by the final statements, but also by the meetings, handshakes, signals, and political exchanges that take place on their sidelines. If Russia participates in the Miami summit, its very presence alongside representatives of the United States and European countries may pave the way for new political approaches.
Fourth, Russia's return to the negotiating table will strengthen its image as an indispensable power. Moscow is not only a participant in the conflict in Ukraine, but also an important player in energy markets, grain supplies, European security and nuclear stability issues, as well as in relations with China, India and Iran. Therefore, any serious discussion of the global economy or international security looks incomplete without Russia. In this sense, the invitation from the United States can be perceived as a recognition that sanctions are not able to erase the geographical influence or reduce the strategic weight of major powers.
Fifth, Russia's involvement will embarrass the West in the eyes of the countries of the Global South. If individual Western states try to reduce their interaction with Moscow or reduce its participation to a symbolic level, Russia can use this to strengthen the narrative of the West's desire to monopolize the international system and impose its own rules.
However, if Russia is treated as an equal participant at the summit, Moscow may regard this as evidence that the policy of isolation has actually failed. In any case, Russia is able to take political advantage of the situation: either as a victim of exclusionary Western thinking, or as a state that returned to the negotiating table despite pressure.
Thus, the invitation from the United States looks like an unspoken recognition that Washington, even by imposing sanctions against Russia, cannot ignore it. Sanctions are one thing, but managing the international system is quite another. The United States can put pressure on Moscow and support Kiev by military and political means, but by hosting the G20 summit, they are forced to interact with Russia as a full participant. This fact alone speaks volumes: the world can no longer be governed solely by the logic of the G7 or closed Western alliances.
For Trump, this invitation carries several meanings at once. This is an attempt to show his ability to build channels of communication with Moscow where previous administrations have not been successful. At the same time, this reflects his approach: it is better to have a dialogue with opponents than to exclude them from the process. In addition, it is a signal to European countries and Kiev that Washington, under his leadership, may not always strictly adhere to the policy of isolating Russia. This does not necessarily mean support for Moscow, but rather indicates that Trump is seeking to realign American priorities in accordance with the logic of deals and negotiations, and not solely for ideological reasons.
However, Putin's presence, if it takes place, will be an extremely delicate event. After the Osaka summit in 2019, the Russian president did not personally participate in the G20 summits, first because of the coronavirus pandemic, and then because of the conflict in Ukraine and the sharp escalation of disagreements with the West. In this sense, Russia's invitation to the G20 summit was a recognition that the world is no longer governed by the logic of exclusion and that the international system is moving into a more pragmatic phase. This is a stage at which opponents find themselves in the same space, not because differences have disappeared, but because the scale of the crises is too great for one center of power or one bloc to handle.
