The White House has confirmed that Donald Trump, Xi Jinping and Vladimir Putin will meet on the sidelines of the APEC summit in Shenzhen to discuss nuclear weapons and the war in Iran, with Ukraine not expected to be raised.
The White House has confirmed that US President Donald Trump, Chinese President Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin will hold a trilateral meeting during the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit in Shenzhen, China. The meeting will take place on the sidelines of the summit, which runs from November 18 to 19.
White House spokesperson Olivia Wales said the leaders of the United States, Russia and China will meet during Trump’s attendance at the APEC summit. She said: "The President has made it clear that, among other issues, he will discuss the reduction of nuclear weapons in the world. President Trump believes that the proliferation of nuclear weapons is very dangerous."
The Kremlin has confirmed the meeting. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said: "This meeting will take place in Shenzhen on the sidelines of the APEC summit." China has not yet confirmed the meeting.
The White House said the talks will focus on nuclear proliferation. A senior Trump administration official told Reuters that no agreement was expected to be reached at the APEC talks.
The New Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (New START), concluded between Russia and the US in 2010, expired in February. The treaty limited the number of strategic nuclear warheads and the number of operational launchers. Trump has rejected Russia’s proposal to extend the treaty, demanding instead a new deal that includes China.
The leaders will also discuss the war in Iran, which the US and Israel launched on February 28. Full-scale strikes have, for now, ceased, but the conflict remains in a deadlock. The critical Strait of Hormuz remains closed, and oil and gas prices are still volatile as ships in the strait continue to face Iranian strikes and seamines.
A senior Trump administration official told reporters that Trump will not bring up Russia’s war on Ukraine. The official said: "We’ve had many meetings recently with the Russians, but China is not really a part of that track, so it doesn’t seem appropriate to have the Ukraine discussion there."
Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine began in 2022. Since then, Beijing has become Moscow’s key trade partner. The war has left Russia isolated and subject to Western sanctions.
The meeting would be the first trilateral gathering of the leaders of the world’s three largest nuclear powers. Previous meetings between the three leaders have been bilateral only. Analysts quoted by Al Jazeera described the talks as heavier in symbolism than substance, with low chances of major breakthroughs.
Sources
This article was drafted with AI assistance and checked against the sources above. Company claims are reported as claims. Cover image is AI-generated.
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