Kremlin confirms talks on Putin-Trump-Xi meeting at APEC summit

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Discussions are underway to prepare a trilateral meeting between Russian President Vladimir Putin, U.S. President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said Tuesday.

The meeting would take place at the upcoming APEC summit on Nov. 18–19 in Shenzhen, China, which the three leaders are scheduled to attend. Putin publicly welcomed the prospect on Sunday, noting that it would depend “to a large extent” on the Chinese hosts.

“There is a common understanding among the participants in such a potential meeting that it would be appropriate and highly useful. Work is underway to coordinate such a meeting,” Peskov told reporters on Tuesday. “We hope that it will be finalized in the coming days,” he added.

Trump told reporters last month he would meet Putin and Xi, initially “on denuclearization,” but also to discuss Ukraine. “I would meet in order — anything I can do to end the war, whether somebody is there or not, whatever I can do to end the war.”

Kyiv met the prospect of a trilateral meeting with concern, with Volodymyr Zelenskyy stressing that it should take place after a meeting that includes Ukraine. “I really don’t want this to be a ‘Yalta – 2, 3, 4,’ when there is a redistribution of influence,” Zelenskyy told reporters in late October — referring to the 1945 Yalta Conference, where the U.S., British and Soviet leaders agreed on aspects of the postwar settlement in Europe, including the occupation of Germany.

China has not commented on the possibility of a trilateral meeting. But German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier, who met Xi last week, told ARD the Chinese leader looked “surprised” when asked about potential Ukraine talks and rejected the idea that China, Russia and the U.S. would discuss Ukraine in a trilateral meeting.

The Chinese foreign ministry told the Financial Times it was “in communication with relevant parties regarding the meeting between the Chinese and Russian heads of state,” without mentioning Trump.