The presidents of Russia, the United States and China could meet at an Asia-Pacific summit in China next month, the Kremlin has said, while stressing that no concrete proposals or agenda have been agreed.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Monday that the possibility of a meeting involving Russian President Vladimir Putin, US President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping had been mentioned, but no substantive discussions had taken place.
“Given that all three heads of state might potentially attend a summit in China, the topic of such a hypothetical meeting has indeed been mentioned,” Peskov said.
He added that no proposals or agreements had been put forward regarding the meeting or its potential agenda.
The Wall Street Journal reported on Sunday that Putin wanted to meet Trump and Xi to discuss the war in Ukraine and hoped to broker a peace deal favourable to Moscow. The report cited unnamed sources familiar with the discussions.
The Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit is scheduled to take place in Shenzhen, China, on November 18 and 19. Russia, the United States and China are all members of the organisation.
Speaking during a visit to Uzbekistan, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said he did not know whether any arrangements had been finalised.
“But the president has been clear: He would like the war in Ukraine and Russia to end,” Rubio told reporters.
China’s Foreign Ministry spokeswoman, Mao Ning, said she had no information about a possible meeting.
The prospect of talks involving the three leaders without Ukraine drew criticism from Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andriy Sybiga, who argued that Kyiv must be involved in any diplomatic effort to end the conflict.
“A trilateral meeting between the leaders of Ukraine, the US and Russia could help end the war sooner,” Sybiga said.
“A trilateral meeting between the leaders of Russia, China and the US would do only the opposite: encourage Putin to continue this war.”
Sybiga also criticised Putin on social media, describing him as a war criminal and arguing that he should not be included in talks with Trump and Xi.
Peskov, however, said a final settlement could not be reached without Ukraine’s participation.
“A final settlement is impossible without the participation of someone from Kyiv who is prepared to take on the responsibility,” he said.
Putin has repeatedly ruled out meeting Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky before a final peace agreement is ready. He has also questioned Zelensky’s authority to sign an agreement following the expiry of his five-year presidential term under martial law.
Ukraine has rejected Russia’s position, arguing that Putin’s refusal to meet Zelensky demonstrates a lack of interest in ending the war. The Kremlin has dismissed that assertion.
Talk of a possible meeting involving Putin, Trump and Xi comes amid renewed diplomatic engagement between Washington and Moscow, following Trump’s decision to waive new sanctions on Russia and a reported diesel deal with Moscow.
Trump has also renewed his criticism of Zelensky, accusing the Ukrainian leader of not wanting to end the war. Zelensky has rejected the accusation.
