Putin proposes trilateral summit with Trump and Xi that excludes Zelensky
Russian President Vladimir Putin proposed holding a trilateral summit next month with US President Donald Trump and Chinese leader Xi Jinping to discuss a settlement of the war in Ukraine on terms set by Moscow. A senior US official said Trump has not yet agreed to the meeting, and the Wall Street Journal reported that Putin raised the idea in a telephone call with Trump on 9 October, citing a former Russian intelligence officer. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told the newspaper that discussions were ongoing and that the three parties acknowledged the hypothetical possibility of the meeting, though no clear agenda exists yet; the plan also envisages a side trade agreement under which Washington would buy Russian diesel fuel.
Why it matters: The proposal makes great-power diplomacy among Washington, Moscow and Beijing the venue for deciding the war's settlement, setting aside Ukraine's own representation and unsettling Kyiv and its European allies.