Picture a summit about Ukraine’s war with no Ukrainians in the room. Vladimir Putin wants a three-way meeting with Donald Trump and Xi Jinping next month, and Ukraine isn’t on the guest list. The Wall Street Journal reported the proposal Sunday, citing people familiar with the discussions. Nothing is agreed yet.
The Kremlin’s suggested venue is the sidelines of the APEC summit. It is set for Nov. 18-19 in Shenzhen, China, according to Reuters’ account of the WSJ report. The goal, the Journal said, is to negotiate an end to the four-year-old war on terms that would favor Moscow. Any Putin summit with Trump and Xi would therefore start tilted toward Russia.
How the Putin Trump Xi meeting idea reached the table
A former Russian intelligence officer briefed on the matter told the Journal the suggestion came during an Oct. 9 phone call between Putin and Trump. That same call also produced a deal on Russian diesel, per Reuters. We unpacked that pact in our look at the Russian diesel deal.
A senior US official confirmed that Putin made the proposal. The same official said Trump has not agreed to attend but “could be receptive to the idea.”
Russia also went to Beijing through diplomatic channels. Chinese representatives indicated they would not object if Trump took part, the Journal reported.
Meanwhile, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov confirmed that discussions about a meeting are happening. He kept it cautious. “There is no clear understanding yet regarding the meeting itself or its potential agenda,” he told the Journal. Even so, all three sides acknowledge “the hypothetical possibility” of one.
Asked Sunday evening as he returned to the White House, Trump said “things are going very well.” He gave no details. He also did not say whether he would go, according to Fox News as relayed by Daily Beirut. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Monday that “there’s been talks of a meeting.”
Why Kyiv fears a three-way Ukraine summit
The timing matters. Reuters notes the proposal lands as Trump-Putin ties are warming. Trump announced a deal to buy Russian diesel, and on Friday he signed an order waiving key sanctions on Moscow. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has criticized both moves, warning they would embolden Putin. The rift is already visible, as our report on Trump and Zelenskiy clashing over diesel shows.
Here’s the thing about a summit without the country being discussed: the other side gets to set the frame. Ukraine and its allies in Washington and Europe fear negotiators could decide its future without Kyiv in the room, Ukrainska Pravda reported. The expected format would exclude Zelenskyy, but no official statement says so. For now, that is a worry rather than a fact.
Then there is the host. Analysts say a meeting on Chinese soil would lift Xi’s standing as a diplomatic power broker. Beijing gets a front-row seat without firing a shot. The idea is also raising eyebrows across Asia, the Japan Times reported.
Not a brand-new idea: earlier APEC Ukraine talks
Rumors of a trilateral have floated before. In September, the Kremlin said Putin and Trump had discussed one with Xi at the Shenzhen summit, AFP reported via the Korea Times. What changed this week is a concrete date, a venue and a confirmation from a senior US official.
A caution on sourcing: the core claim rests on anonymous sources. The White House and Chinese government have not commented publicly. This is a proposal, not a plan.
What to watch: whether Trump says yes before APEC, and how Beijing responds on the record. Also watch whether Europe and Kyiv try to force a seat at the table. For now, the best-known empty chair in world politics belongs to Ukraine.
