In brief

• US President Donald Trump said a three-way meeting with Putin and Xi could take place at the APEC summit in Shenzhen next week.
• Trump named nuclear disarmament and the war in Iran among the topics.
• Preparations for the format have been reported, but the meeting has not been confirmed by Beijing or Washington.

Trump floats a three-way meeting

US President Donald Trump said on Sunday that a meeting with Vladimir Putin and Xi Jinping could take place next week, on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in China (Bude to zaujímavé, tvrdí Trump. Prezradil, o čom chce v Číne rokovať s Putinom a Si Ťin-pchingom – Pravda.sk) (Trump sa chce stretnúť s Putinom a Si Ťin-pchingom. Rokovať majú o Iráne aj Ukrajine – Aktuality.sk) (Trump očekává, že se příští týden sejde s prezidenty Číny a Ruska – Novinky.cz). Trump described the prospect as interesting and said the talks would cover a range of issues, including nuclear arms reduction.

Agenda and Iran

The main goal, according to Trump, is ending the war in Iran. Reports say Putin also wants to push for an agreement on Ukraine that would favour Moscow. Trump has said the group would discuss many topics beyond arms control.

Preparations in Shenzhen

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said earlier this month that American, Russian and Chinese officials were working on arranging a meeting of the three leaders at the summit, which is scheduled for November 18 and 19 in Shenzhen in southern China. Moscow has for several weeks confirmed preparations for such a format.

Uncertainty over the format

The Financial Times reported that the outcome of talks on a possible trilateral meeting remained uncertain, and that finding an agenda acceptable to all participants could prove difficult. The Wall Street Journal reported in October that Putin had proposed a trilateral summit. Neither Beijing nor Washington has confirmed the meeting as of Sunday.

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• Trump says he may discuss denuclearization with Putin and Xi during China trip