DOMINANT ANGLE
Bogotá sees the same diplomatic gesture behind the invitation to Putin: receiving, in the same week of the UN, those with whom Washington disagrees, from Delcy Rodríguez to Zelensky, and then the Kremlin in December.
Dominant angle identified — does not reflect unanimity of this country’s media
KEY POINTS
- 01
Trump met with Volodímir Zelensky for 40 minutes on Tuesday in New York; according to Zelensky, the two men discussed a possible bilateral ceasefire limited to energy targets, but not a unilateral suspension of Ukrainian strikes on Russian refineries (La República).
- 02
Zelensky proposed exchanging future deliveries of Patriot missiles that Germany is to provide in 2027-2028 for available US stocks this winter; Trump neither rejected nor accepted the idea (La República).
- 03
On the same Tuesday, Trump met face-to-face with Venezuelan interim president Delcy Rodríguez for the first time in New York, surrounded by Marco Rubio, Scott Bessent, Susie Wiles, and Stephen Miller; Rodríguez described the meeting as "histórico" (Portafolio).
ANALYSIS
Bogotá, September 24, 2026. The invitation extended by Washington to Vladimir Putin for the G20 in Miami in December — confirmed on Wednesday by Secretary of State Marco Rubio after his meeting with Sergei Lavrov at the UN — is seen from Bogotá as part of a week in which Trump has multiplied one-on-one meetings with leaders at odds with Washington. The Colombian press is focusing more on this format than on the gesture towards Moscow itself.
On Tuesday, in New York, Trump met with Volodymyr Zelensky for 40 minutes on the sidelines of the General Assembly. According to the Ukrainian president, quoted by La República, the two men discussed efforts to end the war, "including a possible bilateral ceasefire on energy-related targets," but not a unilateral suspension of Ukrainian attacks on Russian refineries. Zelensky also proposed exchanging future Patriot deliveries that Germany is to provide in 2027-2028 for American stocks as early as this winter; Trump did not "reject the idea," without accepting it either.
On the same Tuesday, Trump met with Venezuelan interim president Delcy Rodríguez for their first face-to-face exchange, surrounded by Rubio, Scott Bessent, Susie Wiles, and Stephen Miller, according to Portafolio. Rodríguez described the meeting as "historic" and mentioned a "strengthening of bilateral relations" and a "cooperation agenda," while Washington is relaunching discussions on oil, mining, and security with Caracas.
This is the thread that the Colombian press is linking to the invitation addressed to Putin: a diplomacy that, in the same week, is opening channels with Caracas, negotiating with Kiev on arms and energy strikes, and extending a hand to Moscow for December. Rubio justified his approach by stating that "we must meet with people we disagree with" — a phrase that Bogotá reads as a common doctrine for these three cases rather than an isolated gesture towards the Kremlin. The Kremlin, through Dmitry Peskov, said it was "grateful," specifying that the invitation would be handled through usual diplomatic channels.
In Bogotá, it is finally noted that neither the grain and energy truce mentioned by Rubio nor the rapprochement with Caracas are concluded agreements: these are open doors, in a week where Washington has preferred the negotiating table to a rupture with several capitals.
