Kremlin says possible Trump-Putin-Xi meeting was raised but not agreed

The Kremlin said on Monday, October 19, that the possibility of a three-way meeting among President Donald Trump, Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping had been raised in discussions, but it emphasized that no meeting has been proposed or agreed.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said the three leaders could all attend November’s Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in China. His comments followed a Wall Street Journal report that Putin had floated a meeting with Trump and Xi to discuss ending Russia’s war in Ukraine.

What Moscow confirmed—and what it did not

Peskov confirmed only that the subject of a hypothetical meeting had come up. He said no one had offered a specific proposal, and there had been no agreement about holding the meeting, its agenda or what the leaders would discuss. That distinction means the idea remains preliminary rather than a scheduled diplomatic event.

The White House and China’s government had not announced a trilateral meeting when Reuters published its report. Trump also had not publicly accepted the idea. Any account that presents the summit as settled therefore goes beyond what the governments have confirmed.

The location makes the scenario plausible without making it certain. China is hosting the 2026 APEC process, and the annual leaders’ gathering creates opportunities for formal meetings and shorter encounters on the sidelines. Attendance by all three presidents, however, does not automatically produce a joint session.

Ukraine objects to a meeting without Kyiv

Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha criticized the suggested format. He argued that a meeting involving the leaders of Ukraine, the United States and Russia could help end the war, while a Russia-China-U.S. meeting without Ukraine would encourage Putin to continue it.

Peskov said the United States was continuing mediation and that Russia appreciated those efforts. He also acknowledged that a final settlement could not be completed without participation from Kyiv. His statement did not resolve the central dispute over whether Ukraine should be present when the substance of a possible agreement is negotiated.

Reuters reported that the last U.S.-mediated peace talks occurred in February and that Russia and Ukraine remain far apart over the terms of an agreement. Moscow has sought recognition of territorial and security demands that Kyiv rejects, while Ukraine has insisted that decisions about its territory and sovereignty cannot be made without it.

Why the proposed format matters for Trump

A meeting with Putin and Xi would place Trump between Washington’s two largest strategic competitors while the United States is trying to mediate the war. It could give him a high-profile venue to press for negotiations, but it would also raise questions among Ukraine and U.S. allies about whether the format grants Moscow influence without requiring immediate concessions.

The latest Kremlin statement is therefore a diplomatic signal, not a breakthrough. It confirms that officials have considered a three-leader encounter and that Ukraine could be on the agenda, while leaving the most consequential details—participation, timing, purpose and terms—unresolved.

The next indicators will be formal travel announcements from Washington, Moscow and Beijing and any White House response to Putin’s reported suggestion. Unless those governments announce an agreement, the possible meeting should be treated as under discussion rather than planned.

Sources and image credit

Reporting and Kremlin comments: Reuters, available in full through AOL; initial report: The Wall Street Journal; host information: APEC China 2026.

Image: President Donald Trump greets Chinese President Xi Jinping before a bilateral meeting in Busan, South Korea, on October 30, 2025. Official White House photograph by Daniel Torok, via Wikimedia Commons and the White House Flickr account; public domain. Center-cropped and resized to 1600×900 with no text added. The image is illustrative and does not depict the proposed 2026 meeting.