Moscow pursues three-power talks on Ukraine without Kyiv - report

Ukraine would have no seat at a proposed meeting where the leaders of Russia, the United States and China could discuss how to end the war, according to a Wall Street Journal report.

The diplomatic initiative, put forward by Russian President Vladimir Putin, would shift discussions toward a forum dominated by three major powers. For Kyiv and its European partners, the central concern would be their exclusion from deliberations over a settlement affecting Ukraine’s territory and security.

No summit has been agreed. The Journal cited a senior US official as saying President Donald Trump had made no commitment, while Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told the newspaper that the arrangements and subjects for discussion remained undecided.

Moscow has suggested using November’s Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation gathering in Shenzhen as the setting, according to people familiar with the exchanges cited by the Journal. Russian representatives have approached China, and Beijing has signaled openness provided Trump participates, the report said.

For Putin, the proposed format offers both a negotiating opportunity and a symbolic gain. The Journal described a Russian effort to secure an outcome favorable to Moscow while presenting Russia as an equal partner in decisions involving Washington and Beijing. European governments, which have supported Ukraine throughout the conflict, would also be absent.

The overture comes as Trump has taken steps toward closer economic dealings with Russia while increasing pressure on Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. According to the newspaper, Putin broached the meeting during an October 9 call with Trump that also produced an arrangement involving Russian diesel purchases.

Trump has since held back major sanctions measures against Moscow and criticized Ukrainian strikes on Russian energy infrastructure, the Journal reported. His administration has defended its fuel decisions as an attempt to bring down prices, although energy specialists cited by the newspaper questioned how much additional Russian supply would help.

The Journal reported that officials in Beijing are concerned the meeting could distract from their plans for APEC and complicate economic relations with Europe.