Steinmeier Says Xi Has No Plans for Three-Way Ukraine Talks; Kremlin Confirms Only a Putin-Xi Meeting at APEC

Since Trump said on Oct. 19 that he would be open to a trilateral meeting with Xi and Putin, the idea has gone from a Kremlin proposal to something none of the three governments has put on a schedule.

The latest development came Nov. 1. German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier told German television that Xi showed no interest in hosting a three-way summit with Russia and the U.S. on Ukraine. Steinmeier was recounting his Oct. 30 conversation with Xi in Beijing.

According to Steinmeier, Xi said there are no preparations underway for Chinese-hosted Ukraine talks. He said Xi was surprised by the proposal and argued that European officials should be involved in ending a war fought on the European continent.

Steinmeier is the source for that account of Xi's position.

What the Kremlin says

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Nov. 2 that preparations for a Putin-Xi meeting at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in Shenzhen are underway. He said there are no details on a possible three-way meeting with Trump.

Peskov also said Putin's itinerary for the summit is still being finalized, so it is too early to discuss a schedule of meetings with the U.S. president. He did not rule out contact if both men are in Shenzhen. He did not say whether that would be formal bilateral talks or a short conversation on the sidelines.

That is a step back from Oct. 19, when Moscow first floated a three-leader meeting on the APEC sidelines. Peskov said then that no specific proposals or agreements had been raised.

What Trump actually proposed

Trump's stated interest is nuclear weapons, not Ukraine. Speaking outside the White House on Oct. 19, he said: "I would do it. Not so much for Ukraine. Because Russia, frankly, has been fine on Ukraine. They haven't been doing much. And the same thing with China."

He said the agenda would be nuclear weapons and denuclearization, plus likely trade. He told Newsmax the week before that China might resist because its arsenal is smaller than those of the U.S. and Russia, and warned Beijing could catch up with the U.S. stockpile within five years.

The two proposals differ in scope. Steinmeier's account concerns a Chinese-hosted summit on Ukraine. Trump's pitch is an arms-control conversation. Nothing in the record shows Xi has said yes or no to the second.

The Wall Street Journal, citing its own sources, reported that Putin wants to use a meeting to secure a Ukraine peace deal favorable to Moscow, building on warmer U.S.-Russia ties. The Kremlin has not publicly confirmed that aim.

Kyiv's objection

Ukraine's objection is blunt. Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha wrote on X: "A trilateral meeting between the leaders of Ukraine, the US, and Russia could help end the war sooner. A trilateral meeting between the leaders of Russia, China, and the US would do only the opposite: encourage Putin to continue this war." He added that "by any pragmatic or moral measure, Putin has no place at the table with presidents Trump and Xi."

Trump has not shut the door on talks without Kyiv. On Oct. 19 he said, "Anything I can do to end the war, whether somebody's there or not," and added that he thinks "it's time for somebody else to negotiate on behalf of Ukraine."

The fighting continues in the meantime. Zaporizhzhia Governor Mykhailo Semikin said Nov. 3 that a Russian strike on a school used as a humanitarian aid center killed 29 people, with 48 still missing as rescue work went on.

Analyst skepticism

Russian political analyst Dmitry Zhuravlev told Lenta.ru he believes the three-way summit will not happen. His reasoning is that Moscow, Washington and Beijing could not agree on enough common ground to announce anything. That is his assessment, not a statement by any government. He also argued European countries would welcome a cancellation, because direct deals among the three powers would weaken Europe's standing.

China's role is the hard part. Beijing calls itself neutral in the war. Ukraine's government and the Kyiv Independent note that China has been a key economic lifeline for Russia and the leading source of dual-use goods for its defense industry.

What to watch

The APEC summit in Shenzhen is set for mid-November. Peskov has said only that Putin's itinerary is still being finalized. The Kremlin has not said whether Putin and Trump will hold talks there. The open question is whether Xi will agree to any format with both men present, and whether Ukraine appears on the agenda at all.