Trump says he is ready for trilateral meeting with Putin and Xi on Ukraine war

Why it matters

A confirmed three-way summit between the United States, Russia and China could reshape negotiations over ending the war in Ukraine and sideline both Kyiv and European partners. The possibility that Trump would proceed without Zelensky raises fundamental concerns about who would represent Ukraine and whether any agreement could be implemented without Ukrainian and European consent. With the meeting still unconfirmed and Trump's advisers reportedly urging him to reject Putin's proposal, the proposal remains a volatile and unresolved element of US policy.

What happened

On Monday, 19 October 2026, US President Donald Trump told journalists he was ready to meet Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping to discuss ways to end the war in Ukraine. Trump said he would do everything in his power to stop the war regardless of whether anyone else was there, and added that he was willing to hold the meeting if Xi wanted it. He also said the meeting could take place without Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. Trump said he was currently negotiating with Putin and did not intend to 'interrupt this process in the middle.'

The idea for the meeting was first raised by Putin, who reportedly proposed it during a phone call with Trump on 9 October. The Kremlin had been promoting the proposal for roughly two months before that, and a possible venue was the APEC summit in China in November. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said there had been discussions about such a meeting but it had not been confirmed, and The Wall Street Journal reported that Trump had not yet agreed to it. According to that reporting, Putin is the one most interested in the meeting, Xi is interested in dealing directly with Trump, and Trump's advisers are trying to convince him not to accept Putin's proposal.

At the same time, Trump sharply criticised Zelensky, saying he 'doesn't know what he's talking about' and should have resolved the war long ago. He suggested it was time for 'someone else to negotiate on behalf of Ukraine' and repeated an earlier call for Kyiv to 'elect a new president.' Trump also said Russia is treating Ukraine 'normally' and 'not doing anything special,' and described as 'very positive' what he said was China and Russia not helping Iran. Trump also said Xi Jinping had been 'very fair to Ukraine.' Trump recently cancelled new sanctions against Russia, a move Zelensky criticised as placing the US president on the wrong side of history.

How Ukrainian sources describe it

Ukrainian outlets emphasised his criticism of Zelensky and his call for a new Ukrainian president, and highlighted the possibility that the proposed meeting could go ahead without Ukraine's participation. They also foregrounded Zelensky's criticism of Trump's decision to lift sanctions against Russia and the reported deterioration in the relationship between the two presidents.

How international sources describe it

International outlets presented the proposed meeting as part of Trump's ongoing diplomacy with Putin and Xi, while flagging reported differences over its format, timing and feasibility. Reporting noted that Trump has not yet agreed to the summit, that his advisers are urging him to reject it, and that any agreements would be difficult to implement without Ukrainian and European consent.

Where reporting differs

Trump publicly expressed willingness to hold it if Xi wanted the meeting, while The Wall Street Journal and Ukrainian reporting indicated he had not yet committed and were trying to convince him to reject it. Trump also said he would push to end the war regardless of who participated, but reporting noted that the proposed format would exclude Zelensky and that any agreements reached would need Ukrainian and European consent to be implemented.

Background

The proposal for a three-way Trump-Putin-Xi meeting was first raised by Putin and had reportedly been promoted by the Kremlin for roughly two months. A possible venue was the APEC summit in China in November, and Putin raised the idea again during a phone call with Trump on 9 October. Trump said he was currently negotiating with Putin and did not want to interrupt that process. Tensions between Trump and Zelensky had reportedly been growing in recent weeks while Russia received a series of concessions from the US, including the cancellation of new sanctions.