MOSCOW — Preparations are underway for a trilateral summit involving Russian President Vladimir Putin, Chinese President Xi Jinping and US President Donald Trump, with all three governments expressing readiness for the meeting, a senior Kremlin official said Sunday.Kremlin foreign policy aide Yury Ushakov told Russian state broadcaster VGTRK that Moscow, Beijing and Washington had agreed in principle to hold the talks.”I can say for certain now that Moscow, Beijing and Washington are in principle ready to hold it, and preparations have already begun,” Ushakov said.The proposed meeting could take place on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit scheduled for November 18-19 in Shenzhen, China.Ushakov said Russia and the United States had not yet agreed on a separate bilateral meeting between Putin and Trump, although such talks remained possible during the gathering.”We have not agreed on this meeting yet, because so far we have been talking about this trilateral contact,” he said.He noted that major international summits provide opportunities for informal exchanges between world leaders, even without formally scheduled bilateral meetings.”If two presidents are in the same place, they will at least greet each other, talk while sitting at a table, talk during protocol events,” Ushakov said.The Kremlin official said Moscow was currently focused on the November summit in Shenzhen before considering its participation in the G20 summit scheduled for December in Miami.Asked whether the outcome of the November meetings could influence Russia’s participation in the G20 gathering, Ushakov replied: “Naturally. But I am saying that November comes first, and then December.”Ushakov also said the Trump administration recognized the importance of maintaining engagement with Moscow despite what he described as an unfavorable political environment toward Russia in the United States.He argued that Washington understood Russia could not be ignored and that continued dialogue served American national interests.Turning to the war in Ukraine, Ushakov said Moscow was prepared to resume negotiations involving Russia, the United States and Ukraine after November 4, Russia’s National Unity Day.”After that, we will be ready to resume negotiations,” he said.However, he cautioned against expecting major breakthroughs from the initial expert-level meeting, describing it as likely to be exploratory.”One cannot resolve much at the first meeting. It will probably be of an exploratory nature,” Ushakov said, stressing that substantial work remained on a potential peace agreement.He also said Moscow had initially believed that Washington could exert pressure on Kyiv following the Anchorage summit, but that the results had been limited.Ushakov emphasized the need for dialogue with European governments, arguing that negotiations involving Kyiv alone would be insufficient to resolve the conflict.”It is not enough to talk only to Kyiv, we must talk to the whole of Europe, which fully supports Kyiv,” he said.Separately, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov addressed reports that Finnish President Alexander Stubb could be proposed as Europe’s representative in negotiations with Russia over Ukraine.Peskov said Moscow would welcome such an appointment if the representative genuinely sought a peaceful settlement.”If there is a negotiator, that is good. If it is a negotiator who sincerely strives to facilitate a peaceful settlement, that will be even better,” he said.
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