Putin proposes summit with Trump and Xi to discuss Ukraine deal: WSJ

MOSCOW – Russian President Vladimir Putin has proposed a summit in November with US President Donald Trump and Chinese leader Xi Jinping to negotiate an end to the four-year-old Ukraine conflict that would favour Moscow, the Wall Street Journal reported on Oct 18, citing sources familiar with the discussions.

The proposed summit comes amid warming ties between Trump and Putin, especially after the US President announced a deal to buy Russian diesel and signed an order on Oct 16 waiving key sanctions on Moscow.

Citing a former Russian intelligence officer briefed on the matter, the paper said that Putin’s suggestion came in an Oct 9 telephone call with Trump that also yielded the diesel deal between the two countries.

The White House did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment, while the Kremlin could not be immediately reached outside regular business hours. The Russian and Chinese embassies in Washington did not immediately reply to requests for comment.

The Kremlin has suggested holding the trilateral dialogue on the sidelines of the upcoming Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit, the WSJ report said, citing sources familiar with the discussions.

That summit is set to take place from Nov 18 to 19 in Shenzhen.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov confirmed to the Journal that discussions were taking place over a potential meeting.

“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,” he told the Wall Street Journal.

A senior US official told the Journal that Trump had not agreed to a summit but could be receptive to the idea.

Trump’s diesel deal with Putin and the executive order waiving sanctions on Moscow have drawn criticism from Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, who has warned it would embolden Putin and prolong the war. REUTERS