Putin-Trump-Xi Summit Talk: Peskov Denies Proposals, Sybiha Objects
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on October 19 that no concrete proposals had been made for a meeting of the leaders of Russia, the United States and China, even though The Wall Street Journal reported such an initiative from Vladimir Putin.
“Given that all three heads of state may potentially take part in a summit in China, the topic of such a hypothetical meeting did come up. No substantive proposals or agreements, either on the meeting itself or on its possible agenda and content, were discussed and no one voiced any,” Peskov said, as quoted by the Telegram channel “Vy slushali.” He told the WSJ that all three sides acknowledge the hypothetical possibility, but there is no clear understanding of the meeting or its agenda.
What the WSJ reported
According to the newspaper's sources, Putin proposed that he, US President Donald Trump and Chinese leader Xi Jinping meet in November to discuss ending the war in Ukraine, without President Volodymyr Zelensky. A former Russian intelligence officer said Putin raised the idea in a phone call with Trump on October 9. Moscow reportedly suggested the sidelines of the APEC summit planned for November 18–19 in Shenzhen, passed the proposal to Beijing through diplomatic channels, and China signalled it would not object if Trump agreed. Trump has not agreed, and it is unclear whether the summit will happen.
Rubio and Sybiha react
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, speaking to journalists in Samarkand, confirmed that “there was talk of such a meeting.” “I don't know whether it has been finally agreed, but the president has been clear. He would like the war between Ukraine and Russia to end,” he said, adding that the US sees nothing good in the war and a real risk of escalation spreading to another country.
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha wrote on X that a Russia-China-US meeting would have the opposite effect to a trilateral meeting of Ukraine, the US and Russia: it would encourage Putin to continue the war and feed his “megalomania.” He argued Russia's economy is at least 13 times smaller than America's and eight times smaller than China's, and said Putin could earn a seat only by agreeing to a ceasefire first.
Kremlin on Kyiv's role
In a separate comment, Peskov said a final settlement is impossible “without someone from Kyiv who is ready to take responsibility,” while praising US mediation efforts. See more in Politics.