Putin Proposes Trump-Xi Summit on Ukraine as Kyiv Warns Against Talks Without Ukraine

MOSCOW — The Kremlin confirmed on Monday that a three-way meeting between Presidents Vladimir Putin, Donald Trump and Xi Jinping has been discussed for the sidelines of next month's APEC summit in China, a proposal that would put the future of Ukraine on a table where Ukraine has no seat. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov was careful to lower expectations even as he confirmed the idea was real: "Given that all three heads of state may potentially take part in the summit in China, the subject of such a hypothetical meeting was indeed raised. It was raised, but no specific proposals or agreements were discussed or put forward by anyone, either regarding the meeting itself or the possible agenda."

According to reporting on the proposal, Putin first floated the summit during an October 9 telephone call with Trump, the same conversation that produced Washington's agreement to buy Russian diesel and help facilitate its sale internationally. Russian diplomats later presented the idea to Chinese officials, who indicated they would not object if the American president agreed to attend. The proposed setting is the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in Shenzhen on November 18 and 19. Our politics desk is tracking the diplomatic manoeuvring as it develops.

Trump Uncommitted, but Warm Toward Moscow

A senior US official said Trump has not formally agreed to the meeting, while leaving open that he could be receptive. The president said on Sunday that negotiations to end the war were making "great progress" and defended his recent deals with Russia, arguing he does not want to drive Putin away from the negotiating table. That approach has included an executive order waiving key sanctions on Moscow, signed on Friday, and it has drawn sharp criticism in Kyiv and among Washington's European allies.

Trump has also publicly questioned whether President Volodymyr Zelenskyy should remain Ukraine's negotiator, suggesting it may be time for someone else to deal with Putin on Kyiv's behalf. Those remarks landed as relations between the two leaders deteriorated further, and they go to the heart of Kyiv's fear: that Washington's patience with Ukraine is becoming a lever for Moscow.

Kyiv: A Summit Without Ukraine Prolongs the War

Zelenskyy accused Trump in a weekend interview of trying to pressure Ukraine into surrendering to Russia, more than four years after the invasion and the annexation of four Ukrainian regions. His foreign minister, Andrii Sybiha, attacked the proposed format directly: "A trilateral meeting between the leaders of Ukraine, the US, and Russia could help end the war sooner. A trilateral meeting between the leaders of Russia, China, and the US would do only the opposite: encourage Putin to continue this war."

Peskov, notably, conceded the central point while defending the concept. "Of course, a final settlement is impossible without the participation of someone in Kyiv who is prepared to take responsibility," he said, adding that Russia appreciated continuing American mediation efforts. The last US-mediated talks took place in February, before the United States and Israel launched their war against Iran, and the two sides' stated terms remain far apart. Background explainers on the war's diplomatic track are collected by our world news desk.

What Beijing and Moscow Stand to Gain

For Xi, hosting the three leaders in Shenzhen would showcase China as the indispensable broker of a new global order, though it risks further straining Beijing's economic ties with a Europe already alarmed by China's closeness to Moscow. For Putin, the photograph alone is the prize: a seat between the American and Chinese presidents, on Chinese soil, discussing Ukraine without Ukraine, weeks after sanctions were waived and a diesel deal signed. Analysts note the commercial thread running through the diplomacy, with energy trade now openly part of the negotiating currency, a dimension followed by our business and finance desk.

The Decision Sits in Washington

Nothing about the summit exists yet beyond a raised subject and three acknowledgements that it could happen. Beijing has signalled it will host if Trump comes. Moscow has proposed, and waits. The format's fate therefore rests on a single decision in Washington, and on whether Trump calculates that a grand three-power tableau in Shenzhen brings the war closer to an end, or simply hands Putin the stage he wants while Kyiv watches from outside the room.