Putin Floats a Trump and Xi Summit on Ukraine as Rubio and Zelensky Trade Denials

The Kremlin has confirmed that a three-way meeting of Vladimir Putin, Donald Trump and Xi Jinping is under discussion, and it arrived on the same weekend that Washington and Kyiv contradicted each other over intelligence sharing. The Wall Street Journal reported on Sunday night that Putin proposed the meeting for the APEC gathering in Shenzhen, China, on 18 and 19 November. Ukraine has no seat in the format as reported.

Dmitry Peskov, the Kremlin spokesman, did not deny it. He told the Journal, as the Jerusalem Post reported, that “there is no clear understanding yet regarding the meeting itself or its potential agenda.”

Peskov said in September that Putin and Trump had already discussed a Shenzhen meeting. The Journal’s report landed beside a public quarrel between Trump and Volodymyr Zelensky. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, speaking in Uzbekistan on Monday, rejected Zelensky’s claim about intelligence sharing.

The Journal reported, in the Jerusalem Post’s summary, that Putin raised the three-way format in a call with Trump on 9 October. A senior US official told the paper that Trump had not agreed to attend but could be open to it. Chinese officials were reported to have signalled they would not object.

Asked on 9 September whether the Shenzhen meeting came up in a Putin and Trump call, Peskov told reporters, as the Korea Times relayed AFP: “Undoubtedly.” He added: “This potential possibility has been mentioned before, and there will be such an opportunity.” The Korea Times added that Russia has indicated Putin will go to APEC and that the White House has not said whether Trump will.

On Sunday, Trump wrote on Truth Social that Zelensky “doesn’t want to end this war, and probably never did,” the Jerusalem Post reported. The same day, Zelensky told NBC’s Meet the Press that intelligence sharing from Washington had stopped for a time. “It was blocked for some period of time,” he said. “And then it was deblocked by the American side.” He added: “And we didn’t get it during ballistic attacks during three days.” Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, on NBC the same day, called Zelensky’s separate Starlink charge “very reckless”.

On Monday in Samarkand, Rubio rejected the intelligence claim, according to Euronews. “There has been no pause,” he said. Then he turned to Zelensky: “What he should be focused on and what we want to be focused on is bringing an end to this war,” Arab News reported.

On 9 October, by the Journal’s account, Putin pitched a meeting without Kyiv. On 18 October, Trump wrote that the Ukrainian president never wanted the war to end. On 19 October, his secretary of state told that president to focus on ending it.

Yun Sun, director of the China program at the Stimson Center, offered the Chinese side of the picture to the Journal, in the words the Jerusalem Post carried: “China wants to be seen as the pivot of the great powers, and potentially as a mediator between the US and Russia.”

Silent Dossier reported earlier on Kyiv’s complaints of no warning before strikes. Zelensky says three days of ballistic attacks came without data. Rubio says there was no pause. Euronews reported both accounts side by side and the dispute is unresolved.

Earlier this month Trump paused Russia sanctions for 60 days. Zelensky is the one leader of the four who is not invited.

Three markers will show whether the proposal is serious. The first is a White House statement on whether Trump will travel to Shenzhen for 18 and 19 November. The second is a Chinese confirmation; so far Beijing’s position reaches the public only through the Journal’s sources. The third is whether Kyiv is offered any role in the format.

Peskov says there is no agenda yet. Until one of those markers arrives, the proposal remains a report.