The key facts

  • Trump is ready to meet Putin and Xi in China, with denuclearization as the main topic
  • Kremlin: the meeting was mentioned, but no concrete proposals exist
  • Kyiv opposes talks without Ukraine; Trump called for 'others' to negotiate on Kyiv's behalf

Possible Trilateral Meeting

US President Donald Trump told reporters on Monday that he is ready to meet Russian President Vladimir Putin and PRC Chairman Xi Jinping in China next month. According to him, the purpose of such a meeting would be to discuss nuclear weapons and denuclearization, although it 'could also include' the war in Ukraine. The APEC summit will be held in Shenzhen on November 18–19; China, Russia, and the US are members of the group.

Reaction from the Kremlin and Beijing

Earlier, the Kremlin said the leaders of the three countries could meet at the summit in Shenzhen — following a Wall Street Journal report that Putin allegedly wants trilateral talks to reach a peace agreement favorable to Moscow. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov confirmed that 'the topic of such a hypothetical meeting was indeed mentioned,' but stressed that 'no substantive proposals or agreements — neither about the meeting itself, nor about its agenda and content — were discussed or put forward by anyone.' Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning said she had no information about a possible meeting.

Trump's Position on Ukraine

Trump said he would hold the meeting 'not so much for Ukraine, because Russia, frankly, is doing fine in Ukraine. They are not doing much,' adding that on the question of the war he would answer with a willingness to do 'everything in my power to end the war.' He also defended his recent 'diesel deal' with Putin and the decision not to impose new sanctions on Moscow, which caused a serious rift with Kyiv. In response to criticism from Volodymyr Zelensky, Trump said: 'Zelensky doesn't know what he's talking about. Frankly, I think it's time for someone else to negotiate on behalf of Ukraine.'

Kyiv's Reaction

Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha spoke out against a meeting without Kyiv's participation: 'A trilateral meeting of the leaders of Russia, China, and the US will only have the opposite effect: it will spur Putin to continue this war.' He called Putin 'not a world leader, but a war criminal.' Peskov, for his part, said that 'a final settlement is impossible without the participation of someone from Kyiv who is ready to take responsibility,' but Putin has repeatedly ruled out a meeting with Zelensky until a final peace agreement is concluded and has questioned Zelensky's authority to sign a deal after the expiration of his five-year term amid martial law.

Context

Russia has intensified strikes on Ukraine in recent months, and Kyiv accused Washington of withholding vital intelligence and slowing down the satellite system used to track shelling. On Monday, according to Ukrainian authorities, six people, including young children, were killed in a Russian drone strike on a park in the Kharkiv region in the country's northeast.