“Putin-Trump-Xi trilateral summit being prepared for next month”

[Financial News] The Kremlin said on the 21st (local time) that preparations were underway for a trilateral meeting between the leaders of the United States, Russia and China during the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit to be held in China next month.
According to Russian state-run TASS and other outlets, Kremlin foreign policy aide Yuri Ushakov told reporters that day that “the Chinese side is carrying out preparations for the meeting,” and made the announcement.
He added that “the goal is to include a trilateral meeting during APEC,” but said, “A single trilateral meeting will not be enough to resolve the Ukraine crisis.”
Regarding the meeting that day between Russian President Vladimir Putin and U.S. presidential envoy Steve Witkoff, which lasted about three hours, Ushakov said that “the implementation of diesel trade between the two countries took up an important part of the meeting.”
That day, U.S. envoy Witkoff expressed his gratitude to President Putin for the “diesel deal” to supply Russian oil to the United States and global markets. He added that “economic ties between the two countries could develop after the conflict in Ukraine ends.” Under the deal, a tanker carrying 40,000 tonnes of Russian diesel is set to depart for the United States for the first time on the 22nd. The Kremlin said that President Putin had expressed interest in restoring economic cooperation, saying, “We can supply more fertilizer to the United States.”
Ushakov said that day that “the two men discussed in detail the possibility of pursuing large-scale economic projects between the two countries,” adding that several projects were close to becoming a reality. Witkoff said that energy projects and the construction of artificial intelligence (AI) data centers were among the ventures being discussed between the two countries.
The Kremlin effectively rejected the peace proposal delivered by Witkoff, saying that it “lacks substantive content.” Ushakov said, “The U.S. side said it had detected subtle shifts in the positions of the European Union (EU), the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) and others at the talks in Oslo, Norway, but those changes did not fully satisfy us.”
The Kremlin nevertheless said it was “ready in principle to resume U.S.-mediated trilateral peace negotiations in mid-November,” agreeing to restart peace talks. It also said the trilateral negotiations could take place in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates (UAE).
Before the meeting that day, Russia released U.S. citizen Stephen Hubbard, who had been detained in Russia on suspicion of fighting as a mercenary in Ukraine.
Hubbard, a native of the State of Michigan, was arrested and charged in Russia on suspicion of signing a contract with the Ukrainian military and serving as a mercenary in 2022, when the war in Ukraine broke out, while he was living in Ukraine.
That day in Ukraine, civilian casualties continued to mount as U.S. intelligence and air-defense support remained disrupted.
According to Ukrainian regional authorities, four civilians were killed in Russian attacks overnight. Russia’s Defense Ministry confirmed that it had struck energy facilities, including substations in Ukraine, as well as vessels at the port of Odesa.
Ukrainian authorities say the United States is pressuring Ukraine by delaying approval of support for Patriot interceptor missiles. Ukraine needs Patriot and other interceptor missiles to repel Russian attacks, but its missile stocks are running low.
Ukrainian authorities say that intelligence support on Russian ballistic missile attacks, which Ukraine had been receiving from the United States, has also been disrupted, leaving air-raid alerts in cities unable to function properly. The Ukrainian side said that Starlink functionality, essential to the country’s drone operations, has also degraded.

[email protected] Lee Seok-woo, International Affairs Correspondent Reporter