President Donald Trump may meet with his Russian and Chinese counterparts, Vladimir Putin and Xi Jinping, on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in China next month, according to the Kremlin.

“Given that all three heads of state may potentially take part ​in the summit in China, the subject of such a hypothetical meeting was indeed raised,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Monday. “It was raised, but no specific proposals or agreements were discussed or put forward by anyone, ​either regarding the meeting itself or the possible agenda and content of that ​meeting.”

The Wall Street Journal reported that Putin proposed the meeting to discuss ending the war in Ukraine.

Ukraine objected to a trilateral meeting, arguing that Trump should meet with Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha wrote on X, “A trilateral ‌meeting between ⁠the leaders of Ukraine, the US, and Russia could help end the war sooner. A trilateral meeting between the leaders of Russia, China, and the US would do only the opposite: encourage Putin to continue this war.”

The US, Russia, and China are considered the three world superpowers. Another potential topic of discussion could be an arms control agreement, as several major Cold War-era arms control agreements between Moscow and Washington have collapsed. However, Beijing has a significantly smaller nuclear arsenal and has refused to enter into a nuclear agreement with Washington and Moscow, which have thousands more nuclear warheads. 

Trump last met with Putin at the Anchorage summit in August 2025. Xi traveled to the US to meet with Trump last month. 

Trump has also suggested he could meet with North Korean Supreme Leader Kim Jong Un on the sidelines of the summit. However, Pyongyang has maintained that a meeting between Trump and Kim will not happen until the US drops its demand that North Korea give up its nuclear weapons.