US President Donald Trump said he would participate in a trilateral meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese leader Xi Jinping. He said the conversation could take place in China in November, but the main topic, according to him, should be nuclear disarmament, not necessarily the war in Ukraine.
“I would do it“, Trump said on Monday, responding to a question about the possibility of a meeting with Putin and Xi. He indicated that the three countries should discuss limiting nuclear weapons.
The proposal is related to the APEC forum
The idea of a conversation between the leaders of the US, Russia and China was raised by Putin in a phone call with Trump on October 9. According to information published by The Wall Street Journal, the Russian president has proposed a meeting in Shenzhen, where the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum will be held on November 18-19.
According to the publication, Moscow sees such a format as an opportunity to discuss ending the war in Ukraine on terms favorable to Russia. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky is not included in the proposed meeting. American and Russian representatives have confirmed that talks are underway on the idea, but there is no final decision on the format and date.
It is not known whether Xi Jinping has accepted the proposal. Axios reported that Trump is ready to discuss broader issues with Putin and Xi, including nuclear disarmament, but has not said that Ukraine will be the main topic of the possible conversation.
Comparison with Yalta
In an editorial, The Wall Street Journal compared the possible meeting to the Yalta Conference in February 1945. Then Franklin Roosevelt, Winston Churchill and Joseph Stalin discussed the future order in Europe at the end of World War II.
The publication warns that a new meeting between the leaders of the United States, Russia and China could be perceived as an attempt to divide the world into spheres of influence. Such an approach would mean that decisions about the fate of other countries would be made without their participation.
It was precisely the absence of Kiev that provoked criticism from the Ukrainian side. Foreign Minister Andriy Sibikha said that talks on Ukraine without Ukrainian participation would encourage Putin to continue the war.
Thus, the proposed meeting remains a political idea, not an agreed international forum. The next possible point for its discussion is the APEC meeting in Shenzhen in November, but neither Washington, Moscow, nor Beijing have definitively confirmed the trilateral format.
Sources: apnews.com, axios.com, theatlantic.com