PUTIN PROPOSES TRUMP-XI SUMMIT ON UKRAINE

Russian President Vladimir Putin has proposed a November summit with US President Donald Trump and Chinese leader Xi Jinping to discuss ending the war in Ukraine, according to people familiar with the discussions. The proposed negotiations would seek terms favourable to Moscow, those people said. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov confirmed that discussions about a possible meeting were taking place. A senior US official said Trump had not agreed to attend but could be receptive to the idea.

Putin raised the proposal during an October 9 telephone call with Trump, according to an account attributed to a former Russian intelligence officer briefed on the matter. The call also produced an agreement for the United States to buy Russian diesel and facilitate its sale on the global market, that account said. Trump signed an order on October 16 waiving key sanctions on Moscow. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky criticised the diesel agreement and sanctions waiver, warning that they would embolden Putin and prolong the war.

The Kremlin has suggested holding the meeting alongside the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in Shenzhen on November 18 and 19, according to people familiar with the discussions. Peskov said: “There is no clear understanding yet regarding the meeting itself or its potential agenda, although all three parties acknowledge the hypothetical possibility of such a meeting taking place.” The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The Kremlin could not immediately be reached outside regular business hours, and the Russian and Chinese embassies in Washington did not immediately reply to requests for comment.