Russian President Vladimir Putin proposed a three-way summit with U.S. President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping during an Oct. 9 phone call with Trump, according to CNBC, citing The Wall Street Journal. The proposed meeting would center on negotiations to end the Russia-Ukraine war, and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky would not be part of it.
The Wall Street Journal said its source was a former Russian intelligence officer who had been briefed on the matter. Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov confirmed to the newspaper that discussions were taking place, but said there was still no agreement.
"There is no clear consensus yet on the meeting itself or on a possible agenda, but all three sides acknowledge that such a meeting is hypothetically possible," Peskov said.
Shenzhen APEC floated as possible venue
The report said the Kremlin suggested holding the meeting during the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation, or APEC, gathering in Shenzhen, China, on Nov. 18-19. Russia has already contacted Beijing through diplomatic channels, and China indicated it would not oppose the meeting if Trump agreed to attend.
A senior U.S. official said Trump had not agreed, but might be willing to consider it. The White House and the Chinese embassy in Washington did not respond to questions from The Wall Street Journal.
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio told reporters during a visit to Uzbekistan on Oct. 19: "There have been talks about a meeting. I don't know whether it has been finalized, but the president's position is very clear. If there is a possibility, the president is open to anything that can help end the war."
The same call also covered Russian diesel exports
The report said the Oct. 9 call also produced an agreement allowing Russian diesel to be sold on international markets. The United States then temporarily waived sanctions on Russian diesel.
Trump defended that decision over the weekend and on Oct. 18 signed an executive order exempting new congressional sanctions on Russia. In a Truth Social post, he wrote that he did not want to do anything that would "stupidly drive Russia away from the negotiating table."
Zelensky criticizes sanctions move, Rubio disputes intelligence claim
Zelensky said on X that the U.S. decision to roll back those sanctions was "wrong in my view." He also said on Oct. 19 that Russian forces had fired 16 ballistic missiles at Kyiv and nearby areas the previous night, while launching more than 200 drones across the country. More than 10 energy facilities were hit, leaving at least 550,000 households without power.
Rubio separately denied on Oct. 19 that the United States had ever halted intelligence sharing with Ukraine, pushing back on Zelensky's earlier comments in an NBC interview that intelligence sharing had been interrupted and later restored.
The three-way summit has not been formally announced.