Trump accepts idea of trilateral summit with Xi and Putin in China, says Zelenskyy should 'get somebody else' to negotiate
Donald Trump said he was open to a three-way summit with Xi Jinping and Vladimir Putin focused on denuclearisation, possibly on the sidelines of the APEC summit in Shenzhen — and suggested Ukraine's Zelenskyy should let "somebody else" negotiate.
Donald Trump said on Monday he was open to a three-way summit with Xi Jinping and Vladimir Putin on nuclear weapons and denuclearisation.
“We would have it to talk about nuclear weapons and denuclearization,” the US president told reporters outside the White House. “If President Xi wants to have it, I’d have it. If we can do denuclearisation, I will have done the world a big, big favour.”
A possible venue: the November 18-19 APEC summit in Shenzhen, China. The Kremlin raised the idea on Monday; Trump called it his suggestion, but no date or agenda has been agreed.
Asked about meeting Xi and Putin without Volodymyr Zelenskyy present, Trump said: “Anything I can do to end the war, whether somebody’s there or not, whatever I could do to end the war.”
Of Zelenskyy, he said: “I would do it, not so much for Ukraine because Russia, frankly, has been fine on Ukraine,” adding that Zelenskyy “is not helping matters much” and that “maybe it’s time for Zelensky to get somebody else to negotiate.”
China last week rebuffed trilateral nuclear talks, calling them “neither fair, reasonable nor realistic” given its arsenal is “by no means at the same level” as those of the US and Russia.
Putin proposed the trilateral during an October 9 call with Trump that also yielded a US-Russia diesel-fuel deal, the Wall Street Journal reported. Trump waived key sanctions on Moscow on Friday. New START expired earlier this year, ending binding US-Russian limits on long-range arsenals.
Sources
- Reuters: “Trump says he is open to joining trilateral meeting with Xi, Putin” — https://www.reuters.com/world/china/trump-says-he-is-open-joining-trilateral-meeting-with-xi-putin-2026-10-19/
- Nikkei Asia (via Reuters): “Trump open to idea of joint meeting with Xi, Putin next month” — https://asia.nikkei.com/politics/international-relations/trump-open-to-idea-of-joint-meeting-with-xi-putin-next-month
- South China Morning Post: “Trump says he’s open to meeting Xi and Putin in China for nuclear talks” — https://www.scmp.com/news/us/article/3371428/trump-says-hes-open-xi-putin-meeting-china-nuclear-talks
- The Economic Times: “Trump open to trilateral talks with Putin and Xi on Ukraine war, with or without Zelenskyy” — https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/international/world-news/trump-open-to-trilateral-talks-with-putin-and-xi-on-ukraine-war-with-or-without-zelenskyy/articleshow/135059133.cms
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