Kremlin: Putin-Xi meeting at APEC confirmed; Putin-Trump-Xi idea not yet worked out
In short
Kremlin aide Yuri Ushakov said practical preparation for a possible meeting between Vladimir Putin, Donald Trump and Xi Jinping at the APEC summit has not begun, though he called the idea interesting and said all three leaders know of it. Ushakov confirmed that Putin will hold a bilateral meeting with Xi at the summit, but said the timing is not yet set. He said a trilateral meeting would depend on Trump confirming his participation, which he said is not yet 100% certain.
Read the full story 1 min read
Kremlin aide Yuri Ushakov said on Tuesday that the idea of a three-way meeting between Russian President Vladimir Putin, US President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping at the APEC summit is interesting but that no practical work on it has begun. Speaking to journalists at a briefing, Ushakov said the idea “is in the air” and that all three leaders know about it, Interfax reported. [ 3 , 5 , 6 , 8 ]
Ushakov said no one had yet handled the practical preparation of such a meeting. Because China is hosting the summit, he said he expected Chinese colleagues to send all participants a draft programme, which would probably include “windows” for bilateral meetings and possibly a trilateral one. Russia has not yet seen a detailed programme for the summit, he said. [ 5 ]
Ushakov confirmed that Putin will meet Xi at the summit. He said an agreement on that had been reached, but that it was hard to say yet what time or window would be chosen in the summit schedule. [ 4 , 5 , 11 ]
On a trilateral meeting, Ushakov said it would depend on Trump confirming his participation, and that he did not think there was 100% confirmation yet. He said the host would act as the initiator of such a confirmation. RBC reported that the APEC summit will be held in November in the Chinese city of Shenzhen. TASS and RIA Novosti also reported Ushakov's remarks on Tuesday evening. [ 1 , 2 , 3 , 5 , 6 , 7 , 8 , 9 , 10 , 11 , 12 ]
Why it matters
The comments show that a possible three-way meeting of the Russian, US and Chinese leaders at APEC is being publicly discussed, though the Kremlin says nothing has been arranged. Ushakov said China, as host, will decide the summit schedule and the windows for bilateral and possibly trilateral meetings, leaving the format and timing open. The documents give no agenda or issues for such talks, so the significance lies mainly in the fact of the contacts and the confirmation of the Putin-Xi meeting.
Key facts
- Kremlin aide Yuri Ushakov said on Tuesday that practical preparation for a three-way Putin-Trump-Xi meeting at APEC has not begun. [ 3 , 5 , 9 ]
- Ushakov called the idea of a trilateral meeting interesting and said all three leaders know about it. [ 3 , 5 , 6 , 8 ]
- Ushakov confirmed that Putin will hold a bilateral meeting with Xi Jinping at the APEC summit, with the timing not yet decided. [ 4 , 5 , 11 ]
- Ushakov said Russia has not seen a detailed APEC programme and expects China, as host, to send a draft with windows for bilateral and possibly trilateral meetings. [ 5 ]
- Ushakov said a trilateral meeting would depend on Trump confirming his participation, and said he did not think there was 100% confirmation yet. [ 5 ]
- RBC reported that the APEC summit will be held in November in the Chinese city of Shenzhen. [ 3 ]
Confirmed by several sources
Still unclear
- Whether the three-way meeting will actually take place. Ushakov said no practical work has begun and that it would depend on the host and on Trump confirming participation.
- Whether Trump will confirm participation in a trilateral format. Ushakov said he did not think there was 100% confirmation yet; this is stated as uncertain by a single official source.
- The timing or window for the confirmed Putin-Xi bilateral meeting within the summit schedule. Ushakov said it was hard to say which time or window would be chosen.
- The exact dates of the APEC summit. RBC says only that it will be held in November in Shenzhen; no specific dates appear in the documents.
- Ushakov said all three leaders are aware of the trilateral meeting idea. Reported by a single source so far
- Ushakov said Russia has not yet seen the detailed APEC programme and expects the Chinese host to circulate a draft. Reported by a single source so far
What local media are saying
Timeline, local time
- TASS reports that Ushakov commented on the possibility of a Putin-Trump-Xi meeting and on preparations for a Putin-Trump meeting at the APEC summit. [ 1 , 2 ]
- RBC reports Ushakov saying the idea of a Putin-Trump-Xi meeting “is in the air” and that the summit will be held in November in Shenzhen. [ 3 ]
- TASS reports Ushakov confirming the bilateral Putin-Xi meeting at the APEC summit. [ 4 ]
- Interfax publishes Ushakov's remarks that no practical work on a trilateral meeting has been done, that all three leaders know of the idea, and that Russia has not seen a detailed summit programme. [ 5 ]
- TASS and RIA Novosti report Ushakov calling the trilateral meeting idea interesting and saying no preparation has taken place. [ 6 , 7 , 8 , 9 ]
- RIA Novosti reports that Putin will hold a meeting with Xi Jinping at the APEC summit. [ 11 ]