Kremlin says preparations have begun for a trilateral meeting of Putin, Xi and Trump

Kremlin confirms preparations for trilateral summit have begun

Preparations for a trilateral meeting of the presidents of Russia, Vladimir Putin, China, Xi Jinping, and the United States, Donald Trump, have already begun, said Yuri Ushakov, foreign policy aide to the Russian president in an interview with the Russian broadcaster VGTRK published on Sunday. According to him, 'Moscow, Beijing and Washington are in principle ready' to hold such a meeting, and the administrations of all three leaders agree to its holding.

Bilateral Putin–Trump meeting not yet agreed

Ushakov noted that Russia and the United States have not yet agreed on a bilateral meeting between Putin and Trump on the sidelines of the APEC summit, which will take place on November 18–19 in Shenzhen (China). At the same time, he called such a meeting possible, since a trilateral contact involving Xi is planned. 'If two presidents are in the same place, they will at least greet each other, talk at the table, talk during protocol events,' Anadolu quotes him as saying. On priorities, he put it this way: Russia is currently focused on the November summit in Shenzhen, while the G20 summit in Miami will be considered later; asked whether the success of the November meeting would affect participation in the G20, he replied: 'Naturally. But I say, first November, then December.'

Ukraine talks: format and expectations

Touching on Ukraine, Ushakov stated that Russia is ready to resume talks in the Russia–USA–Ukraine format after November 4 — National Unity Day. He warned against inflated expectations for the planned meeting at the expert level, calling it preliminary and likely 'reconnaissance' in nature: 'Much cannot be decided at the first meeting,' adding that the parties still have work to do on a peace agreement. According to him, after the Alaska summit the Kremlin believed that Washington would be able to push Kyiv into concessions, but the effect turned out to be minimal. On Europe's role, Ushakov said that dialogue with the EU remains necessary, since European countries tend to prolong the conflict: 'It is not enough to talk only to Kyiv; one needs to talk to all of Europe, which fully supports Kyiv.'

Peskov on a possible European negotiator

Separately, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov commented on reports that Finnish President Alexander Stubb could be proposed as Europe's negotiator with Russia on Ukraine. According to him, Moscow would support such an appointment if the envoy sincerely strives for a peaceful settlement: 'If there is a negotiator, that is good. If it is a negotiator who sincerely seeks to facilitate a peaceful settlement, that would be even better.'

What this means

Ushakov's statements are significant because, for the first time at an official level, the start of preparations for a meeting of the leaders of the three largest nuclear powers has been confirmed, while the timing and format remain undefined — a bilateral contact between Putin and Trump at APEC is still only a possibility. For observers of the Ukraine settlement process, the named date becomes a practical reference point: resumption of talks in the trilateral format is possible after November 4, and the upcoming expert meeting, by the Kremlin's own assessment, will be merely preliminary. It should be borne in mind that all the information comes from Russian officials; the Anadolu publication contains no confirmation from the American or Chinese side.