Russian delegation to take part in G20 energy meeting, Zelenskyy willing to meet Putin

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September 12, 2026 e-Paper

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September 12, 2026 e-Paper

Published – September 12, 2026 04:21 pm IST – Moscow

US envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner weto Moscow and Kyiv for talks on ending the fighting
| Photo Credit: AP

Russia will send officials to a G20 energy meeting in Houston next week, a Russian diplomat said on Saturday (September 12, 2026), as the United States ups efforts to end the Ukraine conflict.

It comes after the United States welcomed Russian Finance Minister Anton Siluanov to North Carolina for another G20 meeting in early September, causing discomfort among Ukraine's European allies.

"A Russian delegation will participate in the meeting of energy ministers held under the U.S. presidency of the G20 in Houston from September 14 to 16," Marat Berdyev, the ambassador responsible for overseeing G20-related issues, said on Telegram.

Representatives from Russia's energy, foreign and natural resources ministries would be involved in the delegation, Mr. Berdyev added, without specifying who those representatives would be.

"Russian ideas are becoming increasingly sought after regarding flexible energy mixes, technological neutrality, the role of fossil fuels in general and of natural gas and peaceful nuclear energy in particular," he said.

The announcement follows the "discomfort", as Canadian Finance Minister Francois-Philippe Champagne put it in an interview with AFP, Mr. Siluanov's presence at the Asheville meeting of finance ministers caused Ukraine's Western allies.

"We do not think now is the time to normalise Russia" or its presence at such talks, EU economy chief Valdis Dombrovskis said.

Washington has recently upped efforts to break a diplomatic stalemate in Europe's deadliest conflict since World War II, which began when Russia launched its full-scale Ukraine offensive in 2022.

Days after the Asheville meeting, U.S. President Donald Trump sent his envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner to Moscow and Kyiv for talks on ending the fighting.

Mr. Trump had pushed for Moscow and Kyiv to strike a deal to halt fighting, but his initial 28-point plan was criticised by Kyiv and Europe as caving in to the Kremlin's demands.

The United States holds this year's presidency of the Group of 20 major economies, which comprises 19 countries plus the European Union and the African Union, and culminates in a leaders' summit in Miami in December.. The body was established in the wake of the 1997-1998 Asian financial crisis to boost global economic and financial stability.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said he would be willing to meet Russian President Vladimir Putin at the G20 summit in December, in an interview released Saturday (September 12, 2026), as efforts intensify to end the conflict.

Asked whether he would be willing to meet Mr. Putin at the December summit if both leaders were invited, Mr. Zelenskyy told German broadcaster Deutsche Welle: "Yes, of course”.

"We have to come. We have to meet, to speak, and make decisions”.

"It's not about words. What I will tell him or what he wants to tell me, it doesn't matter. It doesn't matter. Result matters. That's it."

In the Deutsche Welle interview, which took place Friday (September 11, 2026) in Canada, Mr. Zelenskyy said that Mr. Witkoff and Mr. Kushner's visit was a "good signal", and it was important the pair had visited Kyiv as well as Moscow.

Mr. Zelenskyy has also announced he plans to meet Mr. Trump in late September, as Washington pushes for fresh face-to-face talks between Moscow and Kyiv.

Asked about Ukraine's position ahead of possible negotiations, Mr. Zelenskyy responded: "Ukraine now is much more stronger than last year on the battlefield."

Russia was sustaining heavy battlefield losses, paying a "big price" for "very slow moves on the battlefield". he said.

"That's why we think that we have now good position for negotiations."

Kyiv has said the talks could happen as early as this month, but the Kremlin on Monday (September 7, 2026) said it was "too early" to discuss a venue or dates.

Several previous rounds of negotiations have failed. Trust between the sides is low, and there is no sign that Moscow or Kyiv have shifted their positions.

Both Moscow and Kyiv have escalated long-range strikes on each other in recent months, leading to the highest civilian death toll since the early days of the war.

Mr. Zelenskyy also repeated his call for Ukraine's allies to provide more interceptor missiles to fend off Russian air attacks.

“Russia produces today 140 ballistic missiles per month. So, according to the rules of NATO, if you want to destroy 140, you need 280. You will never have 280 missiles per month," he said.

It was a "huge challenge" to have 100 a month, he said.

Published – September 12, 2026 04:21 pm IST

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Fonte: The Hindu – International