United States President Donald Trump has expressed readiness to meet Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping in China next month, saying discussions would focus on nuclear weapons and denuclearisation, with the possibility of addressing the war in Ukraine.
Trump made the remarks on Monday while renewing his criticism of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, whose country has been fighting Russia’s invasion since 2022.
“It’s time for somebody else to negotiate on behalf of Ukraine,” Trump said, casting doubt on Zelensky’s role in efforts to end the conflict.
The Kremlin had earlier indicated that the three leaders could meet on the sidelines of an Asia-Pacific summit scheduled to hold in Shenzhen, China, next month.
The possibility of the meeting emerged after The Wall Street Journal reported that Putin wanted the talks to help secure a peace agreement favourable to Moscow.
Asked whether he would attend a meeting with Putin and Xi to discuss Ukraine, Trump said he was willing to participate but suggested that ending the conflict was not his primary reason for considering the meeting.
“I would do it, not so much for Ukraine, because Russia, frankly, has been fine on Ukraine. They haven’t been doing much,” Trump told reporters.
“We would have it to talk about nuclear weapons and denuclearization.”
However, when asked whether the war in Ukraine would feature in any meeting involving Xi and Putin, Trump said he would do “whatever I can do to end the war.”
Trump also defended his recent diesel deal with Putin and his decision to waive new sanctions against Moscow. The moves have widened divisions between Washington and Kyiv, prompting Zelensky to warn that the US president was on the wrong side of history.
Responding to questions about Zelensky’s criticism, Trump dismissed the Ukrainian leader’s position.
“Zelensky doesn’t know what he’s talking about,” Trump said. “To be honest, I think it’s time for somebody else to negotiate on behalf of Ukraine.”
Meanwhile, Russia has intensified its attacks on Ukraine in recent months, while Kyiv has accused Washington of withholding crucial intelligence and reducing the speed of a satellite system used to track incoming strikes.
On Monday, a Russian drone struck a park in Ukraine’s northeastern Kharkiv region, killing six people, including young children, according to local authorities.
Reacting to the report of a possible meeting, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said the prospect had been mentioned because the three leaders could attend the same summit in China.
“Given that all three heads of state might potentially attend a summit in China, the topic of such a hypothetical meeting has indeed been mentioned,” Peskov said.
The Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation, APEC, summit is scheduled to take place in Shenzhen on November 18 and 19. China, Russia and the United States are all members of the organisation.
However, Peskov stressed that no concrete arrangements had been made for the proposed meeting.
“No substantive proposals or agreements, neither regarding the meeting itself nor its potential agenda and content, have been discussed or put forward by anyone,” he said.
China’s foreign ministry spokeswoman, Mao Ning, also said she had no information about a possible meeting involving the three leaders.
The prospect of talks without Ukraine’s participation drew a strong reaction from Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andriy Sybiga, who warned that such a meeting could undermine efforts to end the war.
“A trilateral meeting between the leaders of Russia, China and the US would do only the opposite: encourage Putin to continue this war,” Sybiga said.
In a post on social media, he described Putin as “not a global leader; he is a war criminal”.
Peskov, however, maintained that a lasting agreement could not be reached without Ukrainian representation, saying that “a final settlement is impossible without the participation of someone from Kyiv who is prepared to take on the responsibility”.
Putin has repeatedly rejected the prospect of meeting Zelensky before a final peace agreement is prepared. He has also questioned Zelensky’s authority to sign such an agreement following the expiry of his five-year presidential term, which Ukraine’s martial law has affected.