UK PM Burnham: Putin Will Not Be Invited to Next Year's G20 Summit in Manchester
London — British Prime Minister Andy Burnham has said Russian President Vladimir Putin will not be invited to next year's G20 summit in Britain. Asked by The Economist whether Putin would be invited, Burnham replied with a single word: 'No.' The interview was published on November 5.
The 2027 G20 leaders' summit is due to be held next November in Manchester, in northwestern England, the centre of the Greater Manchester region where Burnham was formerly mayor. The Economist reported that Burnham said Putin could not be 'disinvited' because Russia is a member of the G20, but that he 'will not be coming because of an outstanding sanction.' Burnham's office did not comment further; Britain has imposed sanctions on Putin since 2022.
Britain has a longstanding policy of not engaging in direct bilateral contact with Russian ministers since Russia's invasion of Ukraine. Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband previously told Politico that Britain would maintain that ban, while Washington was free to make its own decisions. By contrast, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said in September that Washington had invited Putin to a G20 meeting in Miami in December of this year.
Burnham struck a notably warmer tone toward Chinese leader Xi Jinping, saying next year's summit was an opportunity to strengthen relations with Beijing and push for progress on global AI safety regulation, while acknowledging that bringing the United States and China together on global AI regulation would be 'challenging.' (Source: Reuters)
Source: Reuters
Published by GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 图：英国英格兰曼彻斯特市中心天际线（资料图）。照片：GJMarshy，CC BY-SA 4.0，经 Wikimedia Commons。 / Photo: Manchester city centre skyline, England (file photo). GJMarshy, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
