Putin has proposed to negotiate an end to the Ukraine war with US President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping at a summit, while keeping out Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. Moscow is seeking a peace agreement favourable to its interests, The Wall Street Journal reported on Sunday, citing people familiar with the discussions.
Putin reportedly raised the proposal during a telephone conversation with Trump on October 9, according to a Reuters report citing a former Russian intelligence officer briefed on the matter.
The Kremlin has suggested holding the meeting between Putin, Xi and Trump on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit in Shenzhen, China, scheduled for November 18-19.
However, no agreement has been reached on holding the meeting.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov confirmed that discussions were underway, but said the three countries had yet to agree on the meeting or its agenda.
A senior US official told the newspaper that Trump had not accepted the proposal, although he could be open to attending. Russian diplomats have also approached Chinese officials, who indicated they would not object if Trump agreed.
US-Russia Talks
The proposal follows renewed engagement between Washington and Moscow, including discussions on energy cooperation.
During their October 9 telephone conversation, Putin and Trump discussed Russian petroleum supplies to the US and international markets, according to Russian presidential aide Yury Ushakov, cited by state news agency TASS.
Trump subsequently announced that Russia would supply more than 300,000 tonnes of diesel to American and international markets, as per a Times of India report.
On Friday, October 16, Trump had also signed an executive order waiving key sanctions on Moscow, according to Reuters. Zelenskyy criticised the move, warning that it could strengthen Putin’s position and prolong the war.
The proposed summit has raised concerns in Kyiv and European capitals. The Wall Street Journal reported that talks involving Russia, China and the United States without Ukrainian representation would be unprecedented, allowing Putin to seek an agreement directly with the two leaders.
(with inputs from agencies)
