Putin Proposes Trilateral Summit With Trump and Xi to End Ukraine War
Russian President Vladimir Putin proposed a trilateral summit with Donald Trump and Xi Jinping to end the Ukraine war on Moscow's terms, alarming Kyiv and European allies.
Will the superpowers decide Ukraine's fate behind its back? Russian President Vladimir Putin has proposed holding a trilateral summit next month with U.S. President Donald Trump and Chinese leader Xi Jinping, according to a report by The Wall Street Journal. The purpose of the meeting, according to people familiar with the details, is to try and forge an agreement that will end the four-year war in Ukraine on terms favorable to Moscow.
The initiative reflects Putin's attempt to capitalize on the warming relations between himself and Trump—a trend that is already causing deep alarm in Kyiv and among its allies in Europe and Washington. The holding of such a superpower summit without the presence of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky would be an unprecedented event and sound all alarm bells in European capitals.
According to a former Russian intelligence officer who spoke to the newspaper, Putin first raised the idea in a phone call with Trump on October 9. That same call also yielded the deal under which the U.S. will purchase Russian diesel and help market it on the global stage.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov confirmed that contacts are indeed underway regarding a possible meeting. "There is still no clear understanding regarding the meeting itself or its potential agenda, but all three parties recognize the hypothetical possibility that such a meeting will take place," Peskov told The Wall Street Journal.
The Target: APEC Summit in China
A senior U.S. official noted that Trump has not yet formally agreed to the summit. However, he estimated that the president might be open to the idea, given his strong desire to fulfill his campaign promise to end the war. Trump, as is recalled, declared that the war would end on "day one" of his new term, but he is now approaching the end of his second year in office.
The Kremlin proposed holding the trilateral dialogue on the sidelines of the APEC (Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation) summit, scheduled for November 18 and 19 in the tech capital of Shenzhen in southern China.
For the Chinese president, a trilateral dialogue on his country's soil would be a giant step in Beijing's efforts to position itself as a global diplomatic superpower. Sources close to the talks reported that the idea was conveyed to China through diplomatic channels, and Beijing signaled it would not oppose it—provided Trump agrees to participate. "China wants to be seen as the central axis of the great powers, and potentially as a mediator between the U.S. and Russia," explained Yun Sun, director of the China program at the Stimson Center in Washington.
Public Rift with Zelensky
Putin has previously proposed a trilateral summit to Trump and Xi, but this time the proposal comes at the peak of a turnaround in Moscow-Washington relations. Trump recently signed the diesel deal with Putin in an attempt to lower soaring fuel prices, which are hurting the American economy and threatening Republican prospects in the upcoming midterm elections. On Friday, Trump even halted the implementation of new sanctions against Russia, drawing sharp criticism in Congress. Energy experts, on the other hand, argue that the war in Iran is the real driver behind the surge in diesel prices, and that Russian supply will not fundamentally change market conditions.
At the same time, Trump is displaying growing frustration with Zelensky. He demanded that the Ukrainian leader halt attacks on Russian oil refineries and even hinted that Ukraine needs a new president. On Sunday, after Ukraine attacked an oil terminal in St. Petersburg (Putin's hometown), Trump lashed out at Zelensky on Truth Social, writing that he "does not want to end this war, and probably never did."
Trump explained that he is refraining from imposing sanctions on Moscow so as not to alienate it from the negotiating table. "I want this war to end!" the president wrote.
For Moscow, the trilateral dialogue is a tool to cement Russia's status in the club of great global powers—a status Putin has pursued since 2000. The format also completely sidelines Europe, which the Kremlin views as the main obstacle to victory in Ukraine. The former Russian intelligence officer noted that Putin has grandiose ambitions to turn the summit into "Yalta 2," where the powers would divide the world into spheres of influence, much as they did at the end of World War II.
Even if Trump and Xi do not agree to such a division, the mere image of the three superpower leaders deciding the fate of another nation will send a resounding and disturbing message to the world. In Taiwan, concerns are already being expressed that such a summit could set a precedent and that their future might one day be traded in a similar forum, especially given the fact that China has never renounced its threats to take over the democratic island by force.
The summit also holds risks for Xi. Chinese officials fear that turning the APEC summit into a geopolitical arena will overshadow their desire to showcase China's economic leadership in the region. Xi is trying to walk a fine line between his support for Putin and maintaining vital trade ties with Europe. Direct involvement in such a summit could drag China deeper into the Ukraine conflict and provoke a harsh backlash from European capitals, which are already suspicious of Beijing's leanings toward Moscow.
