President Karol Nawrocki will attend the G20 leaders’ summit in Florida despite objections from his office to the Trump administration’s decision to invite Russian President Vladimir Putin, with Warsaw arguing that Poland’s participation remains in the country’s national interest.
Marcin Przydacz, head of the Polish president’s International Policy Bureau, made clear that the presidential office opposes Putin’s invitation during an interview with Wirtualna Polska.
“We don’t like it,” Przydacz said when asked whether the United States had been right to invite the Russian leader.
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“If it were up to us, Russia should be isolated in all international forums,” he added.
However, Przydacz stressed that Poland has been invited to the summit as a guest and is not in a position to determine which leaders the G20’s members should include.
Russia remains a member of the G20.
“Poland will be at the G20 summit because it is in our interest,” Przydacz said, confirming that Nawrocki currently intends to travel to Miami regardless of whether Putin ultimately accepts the invitation.
The summit is scheduled for 14–15 December 2026 at Trump National Doral in Florida, during the United States’ G20 presidency. The US Treasury has confirmed the dates and venue.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio publicly confirmed on 23 September that Washington had invited Putin.
“We’ve invited President Putin to the G20,” Rubio told reporters following a meeting with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov in New York.
Rubio said the administration believed the summit could give Putin an opportunity to engage both with Trump and other world leaders, adding that Washington hoped he would accept.
Putin’s attendance has not yet been confirmed.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Moscow was grateful for the invitation but would consider the matter through diplomatic channels before deciding whether Putin would travel.
Przydacz said that distinction mattered.
If Putin moves from being invited to actually confirming his attendance, Poland intends to discuss the situation with its European and transatlantic partners before the summit.
Asked whether Nawrocki might shake hands or otherwise interact directly with Putin, Przydacz said he did not expect such contact to take place.
The prospect is particularly sensitive for Poland because of Warsaw’s strongly critical position towards Russia since the full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
Putin is also subject to an International Criminal Court arrest warrant issued in March 2023 over the alleged war crimes of unlawful deportation and transfer of Ukrainian children from occupied Ukrainian territory.
The warrant does not by itself prevent a US invitation. The United States is not a party to the Rome Statute establishing the ICC.
Poland, by contrast, is an ICC member and has consistently supported Ukraine while calling for accountability for crimes committed during the war.
Przydacz said Putin “should be held accountable for his crimes” but argued that Poland should nevertheless participate in a forum where Russia remains formally represented.
He compared the situation with other international bodies in which Polish representatives sit alongside Russian officials despite profound political disagreements.
Nawrocki’s decision to attend also reflects the wider importance Warsaw has attached to its participation in this year’s G20.
Poland is not currently a permanent member of the group but has been invited by the United States to participate during its 2026 presidency.
The Polish government has confirmed that Nawrocki will represent Poland at the leaders’ summit, while government representatives have been participating in the G20 process at ministerial level.
🇵🇱🇷🇺 Poland’s President Karol Nawrocki plans to attend the G20 summit despite objecting to Donald Trump’s invitation to Vladimir Putin.
— Poland 24 🇵🇱 (@poland24com) September 27, 2026
“If it were up to us, Russia should be isolated in all international forums,” said Nawrocki’s foreign policy chief.
Poland will attend as a… pic.twitter.com/dlPev1fl4g
Warsaw is seeking to turn that temporary participation into permanent membership.
During the Polish-US Strategic Dialogue earlier this year, Washington formally expressed its “strong support” for Poland joining the G20 permanently.
The president’s office has subsequently made gaining a stronger place for Poland within the G20 one of its foreign-policy priorities.
Earlier this month, Przydacz said Nawrocki intended to use meetings with G20 countries to seek support for Poland’s continued participation and ultimately permanent membership.
The Polish government has made a similar argument. Foreign Minister Radosław Sikorski said during the UN General Assembly week that Poland was already participating fully in the US-led G20 process and was lobbying future hosts Britain and South Korea to maintain that involvement.
The US invitation to Putin has nevertheless generated concern across Poland’s political establishment.
Prime Minister Donald Tusk said he could support Putin’s presence if it genuinely contributed to securing a just peace, but warned that Russia could instead interpret the invitation as encouragement to continue its aggressive policies.
Paweł Kowal, chairman of the Polish parliament’s foreign affairs committee, described the invitation as a bad idea and argued that pressure should remain focused on forcing Russia to end its war against Ukraine.
The disagreement therefore leaves Poland with two competing considerations ahead of December.
Warsaw opposes moves that could contribute to Putin’s international rehabilitation while the war continues, but it also sees its invitation to the G20 as an opportunity to increase Poland’s influence in one of the world’s most important economic forums.
For Nawrocki’s office, the current position is that the second consideration outweighs the case for staying away.
Poland plans to be in Florida — even if Putin is there too.
