Trump thinks he will meet Xi and Putin at China APEC summit

• Trump says he may meet Xi Jinping and Vladimir Putin at the APEC summit in Shenzhen on 18-19 November.
• He said talks could cover “denuclearisation” and efforts to end the war in Iran, with Reuters reporting the summit plans.
• Trump also said he is “very close” to a deal on the Russia-Ukraine war, but gave no details on the possible terms.

WEST PALM BEACH, Florida – US President Donald Trump said on Nov 8 that he thinks he will meet Chinese President Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin at an Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) leaders’ summit in China next week and discuss ending the war in Iran and denuclearisation.

Trump told reporters before flying back to Washington from Florida that he will travel to China for the APEC summit, set for Nov 18 to 19 in the southern technology hub of Shenzhen.

“One of the meetings, I think, will be with President Putin and President Xi, and that’ll be interesting. We’re talking a lot of things, including denuclearisation, but we’ll be talking a lot of things. We’re trying to end the war in Iran,” he said.

Trump said in October that he was open to three-way arms control talks with Xi and Putin, which he said would focus on denuclearisation.

The Wall Street Journal later reported that Putin has pitched using a trilateral meeting to discuss an end to Russia’s long-running war in Ukraine.

Trump said in an interview with CBS’ 60 Minutes programme that “I believe we’re very close to making a deal” to end the Russia-Ukraine war that would result in a “little bit different shape Ukraine”, without offering specifics. REUTERS