Could Putin, Trump and Xi meet to discuss Ukraine? Kremlin responds

The Kremlin on Monday raised the possibility of holding a trilateral meeting of Putin with US President Donald Trump and Chinese leader Xi Jinping next month on the sidelines of the APEC summit in China.

The response from Russia comes after the Wall Street Journal reported that Putin floated the idea of holding such talks with Trump and Xi for making a Moscow-favorable deal on the Ukraine to end the conflict.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov responded, “"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 and content of that ​meeting.”

Peskov also admired the US efforts in holding peace talks aimed at resolving this conflict. Speaking about the involvement of Ukraine in the potential meeting, Peskov said it is impossible to reach a final settlement without the involvement of someone from Kyiv who is prepared to take responsibility.

Earlier this morning, Marco Rubio, the US Secretary of State, shared the US stance over this summit.

"There's been talks of a ​meeting. I don't know whether it's been finalized, but the ⁠president has been clear. He'd like the war in Ukraine and ​Russia to end,” Rubio said.

However, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha slammed the idea of such a summit.

"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," he said on ​X.

Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit is scheduled for November 18–19 in Shenzhen.