Key facts
- Peskov said the proposed trilateral meeting would be held at the APEC summit in Shenzhen on November 18-19.
- Peskov said participants share an understanding that such a meeting would be appropriate and highly useful.
- Zelenskyy said the meeting should take place after a meeting that includes Ukraine.
- Steinmeier told ARD that Xi looked surprised when asked about potential Ukraine talks and rejected trilateral discussion of Ukraine.
- China's foreign ministry told the Financial Times it was in communication with relevant parties on a China-Russia leaders' meeting, without mentioning Trump.
The Kremlin said on November 3 that discussions are underway to prepare a trilateral meeting between Russian President Vladimir Putin, US President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping, according to Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov. The meeting would take place at the APEC summit on November 18-19 in Shenzhen, China, which the three leaders are scheduled to attend.
Peskov told reporters on Tuesday that there is a common understanding among participants in such a potential meeting that it would be appropriate and highly useful, and that work is underway to coordinate it. He said the Kremlin hopes it will be finalized in the coming days.
Putin publicly welcomed the prospect on Sunday, noting that it would depend to a large extent on the Chinese hosts. Trump told reporters last month he would meet Putin and Xi, initially on denuclearization, but also to discuss Ukraine, saying he would do anything he can to end the war.
Kyiv met the prospect with concern. Zelenskyy told reporters in late October that the meeting should take place after a meeting that includes Ukraine, saying he did not want it to be a redistribution of influence comparable to the 1945 Yalta Conference.
China has not commented on the possibility of a trilateral meeting. German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier, who met Xi last week, told ARD that the Chinese leader looked surprised when asked about potential Ukraine talks and rejected the idea that China, Russia and the US would discuss Ukraine trilaterally. 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.