Xi Jinping told Trump that Putin may "regret" invasion of Ukraine – FT

Chinese leader Xi Jinping has told US President Donald Trump during talks that Russian leader Vladimir Putin may ultimately regret his invasion of Ukraine.

Source: Financial Times, citing sources

Quote: "According to several people familiar with the US assessment of last week's summit in Beijing, the Chinese president made the comments during wide-ranging talks that touched on Ukraine and included Trump suggesting that the three leaders should co-operate against the International Criminal Court."

Details: The FT noted that Xi's comments regarding Putin's decision to launch a full-scale invasion of Ukraine appear to have gone further than in the past.

One source familiar with Xi's meetings with former US President Joe Biden said that although the leaders had held "frank and direct" discussions about Russia and Ukraine, the Chinese leader did not at that time offer an assessment of Putin or the war.

This information has emerged as Putin prepares to visit China on 19 May for a summit with Xi, four days after the Chinese leader received the US president.

The report said Xi's remarks had come against the backdrop of Russia's full-scale war against Ukraine entering a stalemate after four years, particularly as Kyiv has begun to effectively use drone strikes to target Russian forces and facilities.

The Chinese embassy in Washington did not respond to a request for comment. The White House declined to comment. The Trump administration posted a factsheet on the Beijing summit on Sunday, but it made no mention of discussions about Putin or the war in Ukraine.

According to people familiar with the talks, Trump also suggested during the high-level meeting with Xi Jinping that the US, China and Russia should join forces to challenge the International Criminal Court, noting that their interests align.

Background:

• On 14 May, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said he hoped the lull in negotiations would end and diplomatic efforts would resume.
• The negotiation process regarding Russia's war against Ukraine has largely stalled since the beginning of the US and Israeli war against Iran at the end of February. An anticipated visit by Donald Trump's negotiators to Kyiv "after Easter" never took place.
• At the end of April, Zelenskyy said that Ukraine was ready for another round of peace talks with Russia in a trilateral format.
• On 18 May, Katarína Mathernová, the EU's ambassador to Ukraine, said that intensified Ukrainian strikes on military targets inside Russia should force Moscow to reconsider its calculations regarding the war.
• Meanwhile, Dmitry Peskov, spokesperson for Russian ruler Vladimir Putin, said that Russia expected peace negotiations aimed at ending its war of aggression against Ukraine to resume and that the US would help facilitate the process.

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