Putin Proposes November Summit With Trump and Xi to Discuss Ukraine, Excluding Zelenskyy

The Wall Street Journal reported on October 18 that Putin floated the idea of a summit with Trump and Xi during a telephone call on October 9. That call also produced the agreement under which Russia would supply diesel fuel to the U.S. and global markets. The Kremlin has suggested holding the meeting on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit scheduled for November 18–19 in Shenzhen, China.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov confirmed to the Journal that discussions about a possible meeting are taking place. “There is no clear understanding yet regarding the meeting itself or its potential agenda, although all three parties acknowledge the hypothetical possibility of such a meeting taking place,” Peskov said. A senior U.S. official told the Journal that Trump has not agreed to the summit but could view the idea favorably given his stated goal of ending the war.

The proposal comes after Trump’s October 16 executive order waiving most new sanctions and tariffs under the Graham Act and after Zelenskyy’s public criticism of that step and of earlier U.S. moves. A summit without Zelenskyy’s participation would be unusual for talks on ending the conflict and has drawn concern in European reporting about the exclusion of Ukraine from discussions of its own territory.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio has said the president wants the war between Ukraine and Russia to end. No date or agenda has been finalized.