Kremlin says Moscow is working to arrange Trump, Putin and Xi meeting at APEC
Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said Tuesday that Moscow is coordinating a possible trilateral meeting of Russian President Vladimir Putin, U.S. President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping at the APEC summit in Shenzhen, China, on 18–19 November, which all three leaders are scheduled to attend. Peskov told reporters there is a common understanding among the participants that such a meeting would be appropriate and highly useful, and that work is underway with the hope it can be finalized in the coming days. Putin publicly welcomed the prospect on Sunday, stressing that it would depend “to a large extent” on the Chinese hosts.
Trump told reporters last month he would meet Putin and Xi, first on denuclearization and also to discuss Ukraine, saying he would do whatever he could to end the war whether or not others were present. Kyiv reacted with concern. Volodymyr Zelenskyy said any such talks should come after a meeting that includes Ukraine, and that he did not want a “Yalta – 2, 3, 4” redistribution of influence — a reference to the 1945 Yalta Conference, where U.S., British and Soviet leaders agreed on aspects of the postwar European settlement, including the occupation of Germany.
China has not commented on a trilateral meeting. German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier, who met Xi last week, told ARD that Xi looked “surprised” when asked about potential Ukraine talks and rejected the idea that China, Russia and the United States would discuss Ukraine in that format. The Chinese foreign ministry told the Financial Times it was in communication with relevant parties regarding a meeting between the Chinese and Russian heads of state, without mentioning Trump.
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