President Donald Trump indicated Monday, October 19, that he is ready to meet Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping in China next month. He said any such summit would focus on denuclearization but could also cover the war in Ukraine.
Trump told the reporters that he would attend not so much for Ukraine, because he said Russia has not been doing much there, but to discuss nuclear weapons. Pressed on whether Ukraine would come up, he said he would do “whatever I can do to end the war.”
The Kremlin said earlier that the three leaders could meet at an Asia-Pacific summit in Shenzhen, following a Wall Street Journal report that Putin wanted three-way talks to broker a peace deal favourable to Moscow. The Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit is scheduled for November 18-19 in the Chinese city. China, Russia and the United States are all members.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said the topic of a meeting had been mentioned because all three leaders might attend a summit in China. But he said no substantive proposals or agreements on the meeting or its agenda had been discussed or put forward by anyone. China’s foreign ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning said she had no information about a possible meeting.
Trump also renewed his criticism of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, saying Zelensky did not know what he was talking about and that it was time for someone else to negotiate on Ukraine’s behalf. He defended his recent diesel deal with Putin and his decision to waive new sanctions on Moscow. The moves have opened a rift with Kyiv, and Zelensky has warned Trump he is on the wrong side of history.
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andriy Sybiga criticized the idea of a meeting without Kyiv. He said a trilateral meeting of the Russian, Chinese and U.S. leaders would encourage Putin to continue the war. On social media, he called Putin a war criminal and not a global leader.
Peskov said a final settlement is impossible without someone from Kyiv who is prepared to take responsibility. Putin has repeatedly ruled out meeting Zelensky until a final peace deal is ready and has questioned Zelensky’s authority to sign one, citing the expiry of his five-year term under martial law.
Russia has stepped up attacks on Ukraine in recent months, and Kyiv has accused Washington of withholding vital intelligence and slowing speeds on a satellite system used to track incoming strikes. Authorities said Monday that a Russian drone struck a park in Ukraine’s north-eastern Kharkiv region and killed six people, including young children.