Negotiations for a trilateral meeting between Vladimir Putin, the President of Russia, Donald Trump, the President of the United States, and Xi Jinping, the President of China, are underway. Dmitry Peskov, the Kremlin spokesperson, announced on Tuesday that this meeting will take place at the upcoming APEC summit, which will be held on November 18-19 in Shenzhen, China.
Putin's Optimism About the Meeting
On Sunday, Putin publicly welcomed the possibility and stated that holding this meeting "largely" depends on the Chinese host. Peskov told reporters: "There is a common understanding among the participants in such a meeting that it would be appropriate and very beneficial. Work is underway to coordinate this meeting, and we hope it will be finalized in the coming days."
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Ukraine's Concerns About the Meeting
Donald Trump also told reporters last month that he would like to meet with Putin and Xi to discuss "denuclearization" as well as the situation in Ukraine. He also noted: "Anything I can do to end the war, it doesn't matter who is there or not, is important to me."
While Kyiv is concerned about this potential trilateral meeting, Volodymyr Zelensky, the President of Ukraine, emphasized that this meeting should take place after a meeting in which Ukraine is present. Zelensky stated at the end of October: "I really don't want this meeting to turn into a 'Yalta – 2, 3, 4' where influence is distributed." He referred to the Yalta Conference of 1945.
China has not yet commented on the possibility of this trilateral meeting. However, Frank-Walter Steinmeier, the President of Germany, who met with Xi last week, told ARD that the Chinese leader appeared "surprised" in response to questions about potential negotiations regarding Ukraine and rejected the idea that China, Russia, and the United States would discuss Ukraine in a trilateral meeting.
The Chinese Foreign Ministry told the Financial Times that it is in "communication with relevant parties regarding a meeting between the leaders of China and Russia," without mentioning Trump.
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