The Chinese Foreign Ministry declined to comment on reports of a possible meeting between the leaders of China, the US and Russia. A spokesperson for the ministry, Mao Ning, made this statement at a press briefing.
“I do not currently have any information to share,” she replied when asked to comment on the possibility of such a meeting.
According to The Wall Street Journal (WSJ), Vladimir Putin proposed to Donald Trump that a trilateral summit be held with the participation of Chinese President Xi Jinping to discuss bringing the war to an end. Journalists report that Putin raised this idea during a telephone conversation with Trump on 9 October. At that time, the two sides also agreed on supplies of Russian diesel fuel.
The summit could take place on 18–19 November in Shenzhen, China, on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) meeting. The President of Ukraine is not expected to be among the participants.
Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov confirmed to the WSJ that the possibility of a meeting is being discussed, but neither a decision to hold it nor an agenda has been finalised yet. A source within the US administration told the newspaper that Trump has not yet agreed to the summit. According to the publication’s sources, China had no objection to the talks provided the US President took part.