Trump Expects Xi and Putin Meeting at APEC Summit

U.S. President Donald Trump said he expects to meet Chinese President Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in Shenzhen on November 18-19, with denuclearisation and efforts to end the war in Iran among possible topics. The meeting has not been confirmed by the three leaders, and its format and agenda remain unsettled.

Trump made the remarks to reporters before leaving Florida for Washington. He said he would travel to China for the summit and that one of his meetings would, he thought, be with Xi and Putin. He described denuclearisation and ending the war in Iran as subjects for discussion, while adding that they would talk about other matters.

The Kremlin said on October 21 that preparations for a trilateral meeting were underway. That statement indicates planning, but does not establish that the meeting has been finalized. Trump previously said in October that he was open to three-way arms-control talks with Xi and Putin focused on denuclearisation.

A possible discussion of Ukraine has also been raised in reporting about the proposed meeting. Trump said in an interview with CBS’s 60 Minutes that he believed a deal to end...