LONDON, Nov 5 (Reuters) – Prime Minister Andy Burnham has said Russian President Vladimir Putin will not travel to a G20 summit in Britain because of UK sanctions against him, The Economist newspaper reported on Thursday.
When asked if Putin would be invited, Burnham said: “No.”
The Economist reported that Burnham had said Putin could not and would not be “disinvited” because Russia was a member of the G20, but that the Russian leader “will not be coming because of an outstanding sanction”.
Burnham’s office did not comment further on the sanctions against Putin which Britain started imposing from 2022.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said in September that Washington had invited Putin to a G20 meeting in Miami in December, saying it would provide an opportunity for him to engage with President Donald Trump and other world leaders.
Russia remains a member of the G20 despite Western efforts to isolate it following its full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Leaders of host nations traditionally invite all members of the bloc to attend its annual summit.
Next year’s annual G20 summit will be held in November in the city of Manchester, the centre of a region in northwestern England where Burnham was mayor.
(Reporting by Sam Tabahriti; editing by William James and Elizabeth Piper)
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