Putin Floats a Summit With Trump and Xi to Discuss Ukraine DealRussian President Vladimir Putin has proposed a trilateral summit with US President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping next month to discuss the Ukraine conflict, with Moscow seeking a peace deal favourable to its interests, The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) reported. Putin reportedly raised the proposal during a telephone conversation with Trump on October 9.

The Kremlin has confirmed that discussions about a possible meeting are underway, although no final decision has been made. A senior US official told the newspaper that Trump had not formally agreed to the summit but could be open to the proposal as he seeks to end the Russia-Ukraine war.

According to the report, the Kremlin suggested holding the trilateral talks alongside the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit, scheduled for November 18 and 19 in Shenzhen, China. Russian diplomats have reportedly presented the proposal to Chinese officials, who indicated they would not object if Trump agreed to participate.

The proposal has raised concerns in Ukraine and among Washington's European allies, particularly over the absence of Ukrainian representation in discussions about the conflict. Trump says negotiations making progressOn Sunday, Trump said negotiations to end the Russia-Ukraine conflict were making "great progress" while defending his administration's diplomatic approach towards Moscow.

He also accused Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy of failing to secure a better deal two years ago. In a post on Truth Social, Trump said he wanted to avoid actions that could push Russia away from the negotiating table.

He also referred to ongoing hostage negotiations and said he could sign the relevant document at a later date." My decision on Russia is a very simple one.

I am in the process of negotiating Peace in the war between Russia and Ukraine, and don’t want to do anything that will drive, foolishly, Russia away from the bargaining table. Great progress is being made, and that includes current hostage negotiations!

Signing that document at this time will do that, and I can sign it later, or any time that I want!" Trump wrote.

Moscow and Washington discuss energy cooperationThe proposed summit follows a 90-minute telephone conversation between Putin and Trump earlier this month, which Russian Presidential Aide Yury Ushakov described as "very substantive" and friendly. According to Russian state news agency TASS, the two leaders discussed economic initiatives, energy supplies and international issues.