British Prime Minister Andy Burnham has said Russian President Vladimir Putin will not attend the G20 summit in Manchester in November 2027, citing sanctions against senior Russian figures. Asked by The Economist whether Putin would be invited, Burnham replied: “No.” He said arrangements for the guest list were “handled by the G20” but maintained that Putin “will not be coming because of an outstanding sanction”.
His remarks contrast with US President Donald Trump’s decision to invite Putin to this year’s G20 summit in Miami in December. The Kremlin has not confirmed whether the Russian president will attend. Britain has maintained a policy against direct bilateral engagement with Russian ministers since Moscow launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband previously said the UK would retain that position, while acknowledging that Washington could make its own decisions about invitations. Tensions over Russia’s participation were evident at the G20 foreign ministers’ meeting in October, when a planned group photograph was cancelled after European representatives, including Miliband, refused to pose alongside Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov.
Addressing Lavrov during the meeting, Miliband said: “Let me say this directly to the Russian foreign minister: We all know who the aggressor in this war is.” Russia remains a member of the G20, which comprises 19 countries, the European Union and the African Union. Ukraine is not a member, although the war has featured prominently at recent summits. The UK has remained a strong supporter of Ukraine under successive prime ministers since the invasion.
Burnham also told The Economist that he wanted to welcome Chinese President Xi Jinping to Manchester, which Xi visited in 2015. He said there was a “real opportunity” to strengthen economic cooperation following former Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s visit to Beijing earlier this year. The prime minister identified artificial intelligence safety as another potential area for cooperation, saying the summit could provide an opportunity to pursue international agreements with China.
Asked whether Britain could bring the United States and China together to agree on global AI oversight, Burnham acknowledged the difficulty. “As I sit here today, that feels challenging, but we’ve got to hold out the need to find global agreements on AI,” he said. “If we don’t, the risks of recent times will magnify, they will significantly intensify. So you’ve got to go into it with that aim.”
The two-day summit will take place at the Manchester Central Convention Centre, bringing together world leaders and thousands of diplomats and delegates. It will be the first time Britain has hosted the gathering since 2009. The government says its 2027 G20 presidency will focus on strengthening global economic stability and delivering benefits across the UK.
