U.S. President Donald Trump is set to participate in a trilateral summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping in Shenzhen, China, on November 19. This meeting will occur on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit and will focus primarily on nuclear arms reduction and the ongoing conflict involving Iran, according to a White House announcement.
Despite previous suggestions by the Kremlin that the meeting could address the conflict in Ukraine, the White House has clarified that the war in Ukraine will not be on the agenda. A senior U.S. administration official explained that discussions regarding Ukraine are being conducted through a separate diplomatic channel that involves Washington, Kyiv, and Moscow, excluding China from the process. Consequently, the trilateral summit is not deemed an appropriate setting for those negotiations.
This upcoming gathering marks the first planned trilateral meeting of Trump, Putin, and Xi. The focus will remain on nuclear security and addressing tensions related to Iran. The decision to exclude Ukraine from the agenda represents a divergence from statements made by Kremlin foreign policy adviser Yuri Ushakov, who had previously indicated that Trump and Putin might continue their dialogue on a potential settlement for the Ukraine conflict during their Shenzhen meeting.
Ushakov’s comments followed an extensive meeting in Moscow where Putin engaged with U.S. representatives Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner. These talks were part of a broader series of negotiations involving delegations from Ukraine, Russia, and the United States, which took place in Abu Dhabi.
As the leaders prepare for the summit, the focus remains on addressing nuclear issues and Iran, underscoring the complexities of international diplomacy where not all conflicts can be tackled simultaneously within every forum.
