Peskov claims no concrete proposals made for Putin-Trump-Xi meeting

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov has stated that there have been no concrete proposals regarding a meeting between the leaders of the Russian Federation, the United States and China, despite The Wall Street Journal reporting on such an initiative from Vladimir Putin.

Source: Russian Telegram channel Vy slushali (You listened), citing Peskov; The Wall Street Journal (WSJ)

Quote from Peskov: "Given that all three heads of state could potentially, possibly, participate in the summit in China, indeed, the topic of such a hypothetical meeting was mentioned.

No substantive proposals or agreements regarding either the meeting itself or the possible agenda and content of this meeting have been discussed, and no one has expressed them."

Details: In a comment to the WSJ, Peskov also stated that all three parties acknowledge the hypothetical possibility of a meeting.

"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," he told The Wall Street Journal.

At the same time, the newspaper's sources reported that Putin had proposed to US President Donald Trump and Chinese leader Xi Jinping to meet in November to discuss ending the war in Ukraine. This format does not include the participation of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

According to a former Russian intelligence officer briefed on the matter, Putin floated the idea during a phone call with Trump on 9 October.

WSJ sources claim that the Kremlin has proposed holding the meeting on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit scheduled for 18-19 November in Shenzhen, China.

According to the publication, Moscow passed the proposal to Beijing through diplomatic channels. The Chinese side has indicated it wouldn't object if Trump is on board.

Background:

• The Wall Street Journal reported that Putin had proposed a meeting with Trump and Xi Jinping in November to discuss ending the war in Ukraine. According to the publication, the US president has not yet agreed to participate, and it is unknown whether the summit will take place.
• On 19 October, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, during a visit to Uzbekistan, confirmed that discussions about a potential meeting of the leaders of the three countries had taken place.

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