Putin Floats Summit With Trump and Xi on Ukraine, WSJ Reports
Russian President Vladimir Putin has proposed that he, US President Donald Trump and Chinese leader Xi Jinping meet next month to discuss Ukraine, The Wall Street Journal reported on Monday, October 19, citing people familiar with the discussions. The aim, according to the paper, is to bring the war to an end on terms favourable to Moscow.
The newspaper called the plan an attempt by Putin to take advantage of warmer relations with Trump, which has caused concern in Ukraine and among its allies in Washington and Europe. In the Journal's words, such a summit, held without Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, would be unprecedented and would alarm European capitals and beyond.
How the idea reached Trump
According to a former Russian intelligence officer familiar with the matter, Putin raised the idea during a phone call with Trump on October 9. The same call produced an agreement for the US to buy Russian diesel fuel and help sell it on world markets.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov confirmed that discussions about a possible meeting are under way. "There is no clear understanding yet about the meeting itself or its possible agenda, although all three sides acknowledge the hypothetical possibility of holding such a meeting," he told the WSJ.
A senior US official said Trump has not yet agreed to the summit. The official added that the American president may view the idea favourably, given his wish to fulfil his campaign promise to end the war.
Shenzhen as a venue
The Journal's sources say the Kremlin suggested holding a three-way dialogue on the sidelines of the upcoming Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit, due on November 18 and 19 in Shenzhen, a technology hub in southern China.
A potential three-way dialogue on Chinese soil would be an important step for Xi in his efforts to boost China's role as an influential diplomatic mediator, analysts who study China told the paper. Russian officials floated the idea to Beijing through diplomatic channels, and the Chinese side has signalled it would not object if Trump joined, according to other sources close to recent talks between Moscow and Beijing.
The White House declined to comment, and the Chinese embassy in Washington did not respond to a request for comment, the newspaper said.
Background
The report comes as Trump accused Zelensky of never wanting to end the war, and as Zelensky accused Trump of pushing Ukraine towards capitulation and delaying deliveries of Patriot interceptor missiles. More on the diplomacy can be found in our politics coverage.