Trump, Xi, Putin May Sit Down for Trilateral Summit in China on Sidelines of Gathering of Asia-Pacific Leaders

A summit in China of the presidents of the “Big Three” Pacific coast nations may steal the thunder from next month’s gathering of leaders of APEC, the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation group.Eyes are sure to focus on whatever President Trump, Communist China’s President Xi Jinping and Russia’s President Vladimir Putin have to say if they meet while leaders of the other countries and economies stick to the APEC theme of working for “common prosperity.”Messrs. Trump, Xi and Putin are all likely to address the parley on November 18-19 in Shenzhen, just above Hong Kong on the coast of southeastern China, but they’re expected to talk much more frankly behind closed doors on conflicts broiling from Ukraine to the Middle East to the Indo-Pacific.Mr. Putin, grateful to Mr. Trump for removing sanctions in exchange for a deal for buying Russian diesel fuel after Congress had approved them, is eager to see Mr. Trump, according to the Russian news agency, Tass.Reporting on the latest meeting between Mr. Putin and the American special envoy, Steve Witkoff, Tass quoted Mr. Putin’s aide, Yury Ushakov, as saying Messrs. Putin and Witkoff had talked for nearly three hours. Ukraine “was naturally the central topic” of a discussion that he said was “detailed and frank.” And he said that Mr. Putin, in his talk with Mr. Witkoff, had followed up on a phone conversation with Mr. Trump on October 9 in which he had proposed they meet when they both go to Shenzhen for APEC.As for sitting down with Mr. Xi and Mr. Putin for what would be their first trilateral summit, Mr. Trump, before leaving the White House to campaign in Kansas for Senator Roger Marshall’s reelection, said, “If President Xi wants to have it, I’d have it. “The meeting would be “about nuclear weapons and denuclearization” and “not so much for Ukraine,” he said. “I’m sure we’d talk about other things like trade too. But yeah, I would do that.”China, however, has steered away from the nuclear issue while building up its nuclear strength of fewer than a thousand warheads in a bid to catch up with Russia and America, both of which have more than 5,000 nukes each.Agreement on a trilateral Trump-Xi-Putin summit may depend on whether they can decide what to talk about.The South China Morning Post in Hong Kong quoted the dean for financial studies at Renmin University in Beijing, Wang Wen, as calling the agenda “the critical lever for whether a meeting can actually take place.” Beijing, he said, would stand firm against “forcing China into US-Russia nuclear arms control negotiations.”Conversely, the Morning Post said Chinese officials “have privately welcomed the idea of three-way talks” and were “open to discussing mutually beneficial cooperation” without being forced to “take sides.”For his part, Mr. Trump indicated he was waiting for Mr. Xi to make the next move and would welcome talking about Ukraine“If President Xi wants to have it, I’d have it,” Mr. Trump said. “Anything I can do to end the war.” Absolving both Russia and China of blame for making matters worse, he said. “Russia, frankly, has been fine on Ukraine…And the same thing with China.”Incredibly, however, a trilateral summit involving Messrs. Trump, Xi and Putin was not the only trilateral meeting up for discussion between Mr. Ushakov and Mr. Witkoff.Mr. Ushakov said that Mr. Witkoff. before meeting Mr. Putin at St. Petersburg, had briefed him on his visit to Oslo. Mr. Witkoff, In Oslo, had also discussed the prospects for trilateral negotiations on Ukraine with Americans, Russians and Ukrainians, including Mr. Zelensky.Mr. Witkoff, it seems, had met Mr. Zelensky in Oslo despite Mr. Trump suggesting that Ukraine find another leader after Mr. Zelensky blasted Mr. Trump for betraying Ukraine by stopping sanctions against Russia.“Mr. Putin told Steve Witkoff that we were generally ready to resume these talks around November 10, establishing a security system for Russia and Ukraine.” That would be eight days before APEC and a possible trilateral summit at which Messrs. Trump and Putin, under Mr. Xi’s watchful gaze, could talk about what’s next for Ukraine.

Trump, Xi, Putin May Sit Down for Trilateral Summit in China on Sidelines of Gathering of Asia-Pacific Leaders

Trump, Xi, Putin May Sit Down for Trilateral Summit in China on Sidelines of Gathering of Asia-Pacific Leaders

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