KABUL (Pajhwok): Russian President Vladimir Putin has proposed holding a summit with US President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping next month to discuss ending the four-year war in Ukraine, according to media reports.
The Wall Street Journal, citing a former Russian intelligence officer familiar with the matter, reported on Sunday that Putin made the proposal during a telephone call with Trump on October 9.
The report said the call had resulted in an agreement between Moscow and Washington on the purchase of Russian diesel.
Citing people familiar with the discussions, the Wall Street Journal reported that the Kremlin had proposed holding the trilateral talks on the sidelines of the upcoming Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit.
The APEC summit is scheduled to take place in the Chinese city of Shenzhen on November 18 and 19.
Meanwhile, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told the Wall Street Journal that discussions were under way about the possibility of holding the meeting.
“There is still no clear understanding of whether the meeting will take place or what its possible agenda would be, although all three sides acknowledge the theoretical possibility of such a summit,” he said.
A senior US official also told the Wall Street Journal that Trump had not yet agreed to the proposed meeting but might welcome the suggestion.
According to the report, the agreement between Trump and Putin on Russian diesel purchases, along with an executive order lifting some sanctions against Moscow, has drawn criticism from Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
Zelenskyy warned that such measures could encourage Putin to “continue the war” and prolong the conflict.
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