Putin Proposes Trump-Xi Summit on Ukraine War
Russian President Vladimir Putin has proposed a trilateral summit with US President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping to discuss ending the war in Ukraine. He has suggested holding the meeting in China next month, but Trump has yet to agree to the proposal, according to a report by The Wall Street Journal.
According to the report, the proposed meeting would take place on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit, scheduled for November 18 and 19 in Shenzhen, China. However, a senior US official said no final decision had been made on whether the meeting would take place.
The possibility of discussing the war without Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and European leaders has raised concerns, as Ukraine and European countries, which are directly affected by the conflict, may not have an opportunity to participate in the discussions.
Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov confirmed that discussions about a possible meeting had taken place. However, he said there was still no clear agreement on the agenda or whether the meeting would go ahead.
The Wall Street Journal reported that Putin proposed the summit during a telephone conversation with Trump on October 9, citing a former Russian intelligence official.
The report also said the two leaders reached an understanding during the call regarding the purchase of Russian diesel fuel and arrangements to facilitate its sale on international markets.
Meanwhile, Washington has suspended plans to impose new sanctions on Russia under a bipartisan bill signed by Trump last month. Several US lawmakers, including members of Trump’s own party, have criticised the decision.
A senior White House official told The Wall Street Journal that Trump made the decision because there were few effective alternatives for lowering energy prices.
