Putin Proposes Ukraine Summit With Trump and Xi in China

Oct 20, 8:52 PM2 min readCovered by 4 outlets

Drafted by AI from the sources below, fact-checked by the Ajako Taja Editorial Team · How we use AI

AI Summary

Russian President Putin has proposed a summit with Trump and Xi Jinping to discuss the Ukraine war, sparking criticism from Kyiv over Zelenskyy's exclusion.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has proposed a high-level summit with Donald Trump and Xi Jinping to discuss the war in Ukraine, according to reports from The Wall Street Journal and CBS News.

US President Donald Trump confirmed on Monday that he is willing to meet with the Russian and Chinese leaders in China next month. According to Euronews, the meeting could take place on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit in Shenzhen, scheduled for November 18-19. Trump stated that while the primary focus would be denuclearisation and nuclear weapons, he would do whatever he could to help end the war in Ukraine.

The proposal has drawn sharp criticism from Kyiv as Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy was not included in the potential talks. France 24 reported that Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha warned such a trilateral meeting would only encourage Putin to prolong the conflict. Sybiha further described the Russian leader as a war criminal rather than a global leader, according to Euronews.

The Kremlin has offered a more cautious outlook on the proceedings. Spokesman Dmitry Peskov acknowledged that the topic of a hypothetical meeting had been mentioned but clarified that no substantive proposals or formal agreements regarding an agenda have been established. Peskov added that a final settlement is impossible without participation from Kyiv, though he noted Putin’s reluctance to meet with Zelenskyy specifically until a final peace deal is prepared.

China has not yet confirmed the plans, with Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning stating she had no information regarding the possible meeting. Meanwhile, Trump suggested it may be time for a different negotiator to act on behalf of Ukraine, claiming President Zelenskyy does not know what he is talking about in relation to the conflict.

Background

The Wall Street Journal reported that Putin's proposal aims to negotiate an end to the war on terms that would favor Moscow. Putin has previously questioned President Zelenskyy's authority to sign a peace deal following the expiration of his five-year term under martial law.