Vladimir Putin has invited US President Donald Trump and Chinese leader Xi Jinping to meet in November to discuss ending the war against Ukraine on terms favorable to Moscow.
This is reported by The Wall Street Journal (WSJ), citing sources familiar with the negotiations.
According to the publication, Putin voiced this idea during a phone conversation with Trump on October 9. The Kremlin proposed holding a trilateral meeting on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit, which will be held on November 18-19 in Shenzhen, China.
According to the WSJ, Russian officials proposed the idea to Beijing through diplomatic channels, and the Chinese side said it would not object if Trump joined the meeting.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov confirmed that the parties are discussing a possible meeting, but there is no clear understanding of its timing and agenda yet. A senior US official told the WSJ that Trump has not yet agreed to a summit, although he may support the idea.
Zelensky is not expected to be involved in the talks. WSJ notes that such a meeting would be unprecedented and would cause concern in European capitals and beyond.
Moscow is keen to capitalise on the warming of relations between Putin and Trump, while China sees the summit as an opportunity to strengthen its status as an international mediator. At the same time, Beijing fears that over-involvement in the war could strain its relations with Europe.
- The proposal comes amid escalating tensions between Trump and Zelensky. The US president recently accused Ukraine of attacking Russian oil refineries and suspended a law on “hellish sanctions against Russia”. He said he did not want to push Russia away from talks.
- Last week, Ukraine also stopped receiving warnings from the US about Russian ballistic attacks. FT previously reported that the US had threatened to block arms sales to Ukraine and intelligence sharing over strikes on Russian refineries.
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