Agencies | Shenzhen:
Russian President Vladimir Putin and US President Donald Trump discussed the possibility of holding a trilateral meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping on the sidelines of the upcoming APEC summit in Shenzhen, the Kremlin said on Wednesday.
The Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit is scheduled to take place in the Chinese city of Shenzhen on November 18 and 19.
Russia has indicated that Putin is expected to attend the summit, while the White House has not yet confirmed whether Trump will participate.
Asked whether Putin and Trump discussed the possibility of a trilateral meeting with Xi during their phone conversation on Tuesday, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said the issue had indeed been raised.
“Undoubtedly,” Peskov said when asked about the proposal.
“This potential possibility has been mentioned before, and there will be such an opportunity,” he told reporters, according to AFP.
APEC, an intergovernmental economic forum established in the 1980s, brings together economies from across the Asia-Pacific region, including Russia, China and the United States.
A potential meeting between Putin, Trump and Xi would carry significant geopolitical weight, particularly amid heightened tensions over the war in Ukraine, growing strategic cooperation between Moscow and Beijing, and Washington’s efforts to press Russia towards an end to the conflict.
The November summit could provide an opportunity for the three leaders to discuss a range of issues, including global security, trade, economic cooperation and the Ukraine conflict.
The development comes after US envoys travelled to both Moscow and Kyiv last week as part of Washington’s diplomatic efforts to advance negotiations aimed at ending the war in Ukraine.
The visits, however, did not result in any major breakthrough, leaving the prospects for a negotiated settlement uncertain.
With Russia and China maintaining increasingly close strategic ties and Washington seeking greater diplomatic engagement with Moscow, a trilateral meeting between Putin, Trump and Xi could emerge as a significant diplomatic event if all three leaders attend the APEC summit.
