Kremlin says Putin, Xi and Trump could meet at APEC summit in China, but no agenda agreed
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on 19 October that a hypothetical meeting of the Russian, Chinese and US leaders at the 18-19 November APEC summit in Shenzhen had been mentioned, after The Wall Street Journal reported that Putin is pushing for a three-way summit on Ukraine.
The Kremlin said on Monday, 19 October, that Russian President Vladimir Putin, Chinese President Xi Jinping and US President Donald Trump could potentially meet at next month’s Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit in the Chinese city of Shenzhen, AFP reported. The summit is scheduled for 18-19 November, and all three countries are APEC members.
What the Kremlin said
Asked about a report in The Wall Street Journal, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that, since all three leaders might attend the summit, the topic of “such a hypothetical meeting has indeed been mentioned”. He added that no substantive proposals or agreements on the meeting or its agenda had been discussed or put forward by anyone.
Peskov also said a final settlement of the war was impossible without the participation of someone from Kyiv who is prepared to take on the responsibility.
The Wall Street Journal report
According to the newspaper, which cited people familiar with the discussions, Putin raised the idea during a 9 October phone call with Trump and hopes the format would produce a peace deal on terms favourable to Moscow. Anadolu Agency, summarising the report, said the same call led to an agreement for the US to buy Russian diesel fuel and help sell it on the global market. A senior US official was quoted as saying Trump had not agreed to the summit but could be open to it. China reportedly indicated it would not object if Trump agreed, although some Chinese officials were said to worry that the idea could overshadow Beijing’s plans for APEC.
Concern in Kyiv and Europe
The proposed format would leave Ukraine out of the room. Putin has repeatedly refused to meet Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky before a final deal is ready and has questioned his authority to sign one, a position Kyiv rejects. Peskov’s comments came after Trump suspended new sanctions on Russia and struck the diesel deal with Moscow, steps that AFP said fuelled fears in Kyiv and Europe. Trump has recently said Zelensky “doesn’t want to end this war”; Zelensky has rejected that claim.
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