WSJ: Putin wants to discuss ending the war in Ukraine with Trump and Xi

Russian President Vladimir Putin has proposed holding a trilateral meeting with U.S. President Donald Trump and Chinese leader Xi Jinping to discuss ending the war against Ukraine. The proposed negotiation format does not include the participation of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.

The Wall Street Journal reported this on October 18, citing sources familiar with the diplomatic contacts.

According to the publication, Putin made this proposal during a phone conversation with Trump on October 9. At that time, the parties also agreed to cooperate on supplying Russian diesel fuel to the global market.

The possible meeting is proposed to be organized on November 18-19 in Shenzhen, China, where the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit will take place.

As WSJ notes, the Kremlin hopes to use improved relations with Washington to promote agreements on ending the war on terms favorable to Russia. Talks between the leaders of the three countries without Ukrainian representatives could cause concern in Kyiv and European capitals.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov confirmed to the publication that the possibility of such a meeting is being discussed. At the same time, he stressed that there are currently no specific agreements on holding the summit and its agenda.

A senior U.S. official also told WSJ that Trump has not yet agreed to the proposed meeting, although he could potentially support such an initiative.

Beijing's position on the trilateral format also remains unclear. On October 3, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Guo Jiakun, responding to a question about a possible meeting between Putin, Trump and Xi during APEC, said he had no information on the matter. At the same time, China welcomed the Russian president's intention to participate in the summit.

Reports of the new Kremlin initiative came amid strained relations between Ukraine and the United States. Trump recently decided to temporarily waive some sanctions against Russia, explaining that he did not want to derail the negotiation process with Moscow.

Meanwhile, according to Axios, on October 18, Zelensky held an approximately 40-minute conversation with Trump representatives Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner. The parties discussed the crisis in relations between Kyiv and Washington and the possibility of a personal meeting in the coming days.

Thus, despite reports of a possible trilateral summit, the holding of negotiations between Putin, Trump and Xi remains unconfirmed. No official agreements on the composition of participants, date or content of the meeting have been announced.

Based on materials from: The Wall Street Journal, Chinese Foreign Ministry, Axios