President Donald Trump is expected to meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping during his trip to China next week. (Foto: Instagram)
President Donald Trump will meet Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping at the end of his trip to China next week, a White House spokesperson confirmed Friday, Nov. 13. The three leaders are expected to discuss reducing their countries’ nuclear arsenals, but Washington does not anticipate a formal commitment on the issue.
“We do not expect to reach any kind of agreement,” a U.S. government official said, according to international media reports. The meeting would bring together the leaders of the three countries, whose governments have discussed the possibility of a trilateral gathering in recent months.
In October, Russian presidential adviser Yuri Ushakov said the idea had come up during a conversation between Putin and Steve Witkoff, a special envoy for the U.S. government. Ushakov said none of the three capitals had rejected the proposal. He also said China, which is hosting the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in Shenzhen, was preparing for the possibility that a meeting could be added to the official schedule.
Trump had previously expressed interest in bringing Putin and Xi together to discuss reducing nuclear stockpiles. In October, he said a potential summit would focus on nuclear weapons and denuclearization, rather than necessarily on negotiations to end the war in Ukraine. Trump has also said the United States is in talks with Russia and China about the possibility of reducing nuclear weapons stockpiles.
Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov had also raised the prospect of a meeting. He said the three presidents’ presence at the APEC summit created an opportunity to discuss holding a separate gathering. Peskov cautioned, however, that there was not yet a specific proposal or a final understanding about whether the meeting would take place or what topics it would cover.
