Home · World · Oct 27 archive

Kremlin Aide Announces Preparations for Putin-Trump-Xi Summit

12:36 PM ETConfirmed

World Desk

In Short: Kremlin foreign policy aide Yuri Ushakov announced on Sunday that preparations have begun for a trilateral summit between Russian President Vladimir Putin, US President Donald Trump, and Chinese President Xi Jinping.

Kremlin foreign policy aide Yuri Ushakov announced on Sunday, Oct. 25, that preparations have begun for a trilateral summit between Russian President Vladimir Putin, US President Donald Trump, and Chinese President Xi Jinping on the sidelines of the APEC summit in Shenzhen on Nov. 18-19.

Ushakov confirmed that Moscow received an invitation to the Miami G20 summit in December, noting Putin’s attendance depends on the success of the China meeting.

Asked directly whether the decision regarding Putin’s travel to Florida depends significantly on the success of the trilateral summit in China, Ushakov answered affirmatively.

Ushakov stated, “Right now, I can already state definitely that Moscow, Beijing, and Washington are in principle ready to hold it, and preparations for it have already begun.”

The senior Kremlin aide indicated that the trilateral summit is being planned to take place on the sidelines of the upcoming Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) leaders’ summit scheduled for Nov.

Putin and Trump have commented on the potential summit, highlighting very different agendas, and China has stayed mostly quiet about it.

According to The Wall Street Journal, Putin raised the summit during a phone conversation with Trump on Oct. 9.

Chinese officials are concerned that such a geopolitical spectacle could distract from Beijing’s plans to use the APEC summit to consolidate China’s position in the region.

A senior U.S. official said Trump had not accepted the proposal for a summit, but might be interested in the idea because he wants to fulfill his campaign promise to end the war.

Mao Ning, a Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson, said she had no information at this stage about a possible trilateral summit.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said he is ready to meet Russian President Vladimir Putin in Miami during the G20 summit.

What this adds

Background

What's confirmed

• The senior Kremlin aide indicated that the trilateral summit is being planned to take place on the sidelines of the upcoming Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) leaders’ summit scheduled for Nov.
• The former Russian intelligence officer said Putin had repeatedly proposed a trilateral summit with Trump and Xi.
• Russian President Vladimir Putin has proposed a trilateral summit with US President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping next month to discuss a possible settlement to the four-year war in Ukraine, in a move that could help Moscow secure terms favourable to its interests, The Wall Street Journal reported.
• “There is no clear understanding yet regarding the meeting itself or its potential agenda, although all three parties acknowledge the hypothetical possibility of such a meeting taking place,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told the newspaper.

What's still developing

• Investors will be watching for any movement on the proposed summit, details of the diesel arrangement, and further statements from Washington, Moscow, Kyiv and Beijing.
• "There's no deal until there's a deal," Donald Trump said early in his post-summit remarks here in Anchorage.
• There are also no indications that a future summit that includes Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky is forthcoming, Putin's "next time in Moscow" quip about their next meeting notwithstanding.
• “There is still no clarity about either the meeting itself or its possible agenda, although all three countries acknowledge that it could hypothetically take place,” he told The Wall Street Journal.
• --> Putin proposes November summit with Trump and Xi on Ukraine Russian President Vladimir Putin has proposed a three-way summit with United States President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping next month to negotiate an end to the Ukraine conflict on terms favorable to Moscow.
• Momentum for a three-power gathering also follows Xi Jinping's state visit to the United States from September 23 to 25, where the Chinese leader and Trump held what Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi called a “candid and in-depth exchange of views with US President Donald Trump in a friendly atmosphere of mutual respect” on bilateral and global strategic issues.
• U krainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Sunday that resolving the territorial disputes at the heart of the war with Russia would require a direct summit between heads of state, after US envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner held talks in Kyiv without signaling any breakthrough toward ending the four-year conflict.
• Zelenskyy said Ukraine had "prepared everything to make our airports operational," but Russian strikes have kept the country's airspace closed since the 2022 invasion, ruling out arrival by plane.
• "India is a staunch supporter of freedom of navigation and the safety of seafarers," he said.
• Prime Minister Narendra Modi met Russian President Vladimir Putin Friday afternoon – a 45-minute sit-down at Delhi’s Bharat Mandapam, the venue for this weekend’s BRICS summit.
• The Russian president last personally attended a G20 summit seven years ago.

Sources

• Kyiv Postlink
• Thediplomatlink
• Briefslink
• BBClink
• Kyivindependentlink
• Bgneslink
• Cnbctv18link
• Newscordlink
• Prameyanewslink
• Turkiyetodaylink
• The Indian Expresslink
• Azernewslink
• WarpBeat — background on First Russian Diesel Tanker Heads to US Under Trump-Putin Deal link
• WarpBeat — background on Zelenskyy seeks to mend ties with Trump ahead of Witkoff-Putin meeting link
• Times Now World — video link