Russian President Vladimir Putin has reportedly proposed a trilateral meeting with US President Donald Trump and Chinese leader Xi Jinping next month to negotiate an end to the war in Ukraine, with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky excluded from the talks, according to sources cited by the Wall Street Journal.
Proposed Meeting at APEC Forum
The proposed meeting would take place on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum in Shenzhen, China, scheduled for November 18-19. Putin reportedly called Trump and Xi on October 9 to suggest the trilateral discussion.
China is said to have reached out to "US counterparts" to discuss the desire for such a meeting. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said a meeting between the three leaders was discussed "hypothetically" and that "no substantive proposals or agreements" were put forward by either country.
Trump's Response and Other Topics
Trump has said he would be open to meeting Putin and Xi on Ukraine but expressed more interest in discussing "denuclearisation" and other topics, including Iran and trade. Speaking to reporters on Monday, Trump said: "Anything I can do to end the war, whether somebody's there or not." He added: "If President Xi wants to have it, I'd have it. I'm sure we'd talk about other things like trade too. But yeah, I would do that."
Trump also suggested that Russia has "been fine on Ukraine. They haven't been doing much," and claimed both Russia and China had done "very little" for Tehran.
Fresh Attacks Despite Claims
Despite Trump's comments, at least seven people were killed after Russia launched another missile and drone attack on civilian areas in Ukraine, officials said. In the Obukhiv district, three people were killed and six wounded, with warehouses damaged, according to police. In the Bucha district, one woman was killed and 21 people were wounded, eight of them children, with hundreds of buildings damaged.
On Tuesday morning, three people were killed and four injured when two vehicles caught fire in a Russian attack on the Kyiv-Odesa motorway, Ukraine's state emergency service said. The bus transports people from Kyiv to the national military memorial cemetery.
