Putin Proposes Three-Way Summit With Trump and Xi on Ukraine

Vladimir Putin has proposed a three-way summit with Donald Trump and Xi Jinping to negotiate an end to the war in Ukraine, The Wall Street Journal reported Sunday, citing people familiar with the discussions.

Putin floated the idea during an Oct. 9 phone call with Trump, the paper reported, citing a former Russian intelligence officer briefed on the matter. That call also produced a deal for the United States to buy Russian diesel fuel and help sell it on the global market.

The Kremlin has suggested holding the talks on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit, set for Nov. 18-19 in Shenzhen, China, according to the report.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov confirmed to the Journal that discussions about a possible meeting were taking place. “There is no clear understanding yet regarding the meeting itself or its potential agenda, although all three parties acknowledge the hypothetical possibility of such a meeting taking place,” he said.

A senior U.S. official told the Journal that Trump has not agreed to the summit, but could be receptive. Trump promised during his campaign to end the war on “day one” of his term. He is now approaching two years in office.

Ukraine rejected the idea outright. The country’s foreign minister said a peace summit without Kyiv would “encourage Putin to continue his war.” Zelensky has warned that the diesel deal would embolden Putin and prolong the war, Reuters reported.

The proposal comes as Trump-Putin ties warm. On Friday, Trump signed an executive order waiving key sanctions on Russia days before a deadline in the Graham Act took effect.

The White House did not immediately respond to Reuters’ request for comment. The Kremlin could not be reached outside business hours, and the Russian and Chinese embassies in Washington did not immediately reply, Reuters reported.