Russiaupdated 1h ago2 min read
Putin Proposes Trilateral Summit With Trump And Xi To End Ukraine War Without Zelenskyy
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Putin proposed trilateral summit with Trump and Xi to end Ukraine war without Zelenskyy. The talks would yield terms favorable to Moscow, per WSJ.
Summit Proposal, Without Zelenskyy
Vladimir Putin has reportedly floated a three-way summit with U.S. President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping to negotiate an end to the war in Ukraine without Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy at the table.
The Wall Street Journal reported that the idea was mentioned in a phone call to Trump on Oct. 9, and the proposal could take place at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in November in the Chinese city of Shenzhen.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov confirmed that talks were ongoing about a possible meeting but said, "There is not yet a clear understanding of the meeting itself or its possible agenda, although the three parties recognize the hypothetical possibility that such a meeting could take place."
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said, "there's been talks of a meeting. I don't know whether it's been finalized, but the president has been clear," while he spoke during a visit to Uzbekistan.
Ukraine Pushback and European Doubts
Ukraine's Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha warned on Monday that a trilateral meeting between the leaders of Russia, the US, and Russia would only encourage Putin to continue the war.
Sybiha wrote on X, "A trilateral meeting between the leaders of Russia, China, and the US would do only the opposite: encourage Putin to continue this war," and he argued Putin should not be rewarded without meaningful steps toward peace.
The European Commission questioned Moscow's willingness to end the war, and a Commission spokesperson said on Monday, "If Putin would like to end this war, you can just stop this war today. And the war could be over today,".
Putin repeatedly declined proposals to meet Zelenskyy on neutral ground, insisting that any direct talks between the two leaders take place in Moscow, a condition Kyiv has rejected.
Diesel Deal, Sanctions, and Next Steps
The summit proposal came alongside an agreement from the Oct. 9 call that produced a deal for Moscow to sell diesel on the global market, as the Wall Street Journal reported.
Trump defended his decision to temporarily lift sanctions on Russian diesel exports and said he was negotiating peace, while Zelenskyy argued that Washington's easing of sanctions on Russia risks prolonging the conflict.
Zelenskyy wrote on X that "the decision to undo all of this, to block all of it, seems wrong to me."
Serhiy Derkach told CNBC that Kyiv still hoped to retain Washington's support despite the growing tensions, and he said Ukraine hoped Washington would continue helping it or at least "stay in the middle."