The key facts

  • Peskov: the US wants to discuss nuclear disarmament with Russia and China, China opposes such a format; Moscow is ready for dialogue.
  • A possible meeting of Putin, Trump and Xi Jinping is being discussed on the sidelines of the APEC summit in Shenzhen on November 18–19; the leaders' participation has not been confirmed.
  • On October 20, the Kremlin urgently called for resuming dialogue with the US on strategic stability after New START expires on February 5, 2026.

The Kremlin's position on the trilateral format

Press secretary of the Russian president Dmitry Peskov told a correspondent of the IS 'Vesti' news service that the US intends to discuss nuclear disarmament and strategic stability at a possible trilateral meeting with Russia and China, but Beijing is not yet ready for such a negotiation format. 'You know that the Americans want to talk about nuclear disarmament, but the Chinese do not want that. We are ready for both, but besides that there are many more questions,' the Kremlin spokesman explained. According to him, Moscow is open to discussing these and other issues.

Possible meeting of the leaders of the three countries

On October 19, Peskov confirmed that a possible meeting of Vladimir Putin, Donald Trump and Xi Jinping was being discussed. The talks could take place on the sidelines of the APEC summit in Shenzhen, China, on November 18–19, but organizational details and the leaders' participation have not yet been confirmed. Back on October 1, Putin allowed for the possibility of holding such a summit, noting that much would depend on the host country.

Dialogue on strategic stability after New START expires

On October 20, the Kremlin urgently called for resuming the Russian-American dialogue on strategic stability. The need for new agreements became especially pressing after the expiration of the New START treaty on February 5, 2026, which limited the number of deployed strategic nuclear warheads and their delivery vehicles for Russia and the US and provided for mutual verification mechanisms.

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