Putin asks for a summit with Trump and Xi on Ukraine, with Zelensky left out

The Wall Street Journal reported that Vladimir Putin has proposed that he, President Trump and Xi Jinping meet next month to talk about Ukraine and negotiate an end to the war favourable to Moscow¹. Politico reported that Russia is exploring such a summit on a Ukraine deal⁴, and the Telegraph said Putin has proposed a meeting with Trump and Xi to negotiate the future of Ukraine⁵.

The Kremlin then confirmed the possibility in public. It said on Monday that Putin, Trump and Xi could hold a three-way meeting in China next month³. The Kremlin also suggested the three presidents could meet at an upcoming Asia-Pacific summit in China⁸. These are Russian government statements about Russian intentions, and Washington has not announced any such meeting².

Who is not in the room

Euronews reported that Putin is seeking the summit while refusing talks with Volodymyr Zelensky⁶, and Forbes reported that the proposed meeting would exclude the Ukrainian president⁷. Ukraine pushed back directly: Kyiv warned that a Putin, Trump and Xi summit would encourage Moscow to keep fighting, and Ukraine’s foreign minister wrote that “Russia is not a world power but a global problem”¹⁰.

The proposal lands in the middle of an open rift between Kyiv and Washington. Zelensky accused Trump of trying to pressure Ukraine into surrendering to Russia, escalating a week-long row⁹. Asked about a possible meeting of the three leaders, Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Ukraine and Russia should be focused on ending the war².

Why it matters to investors

A settlement negotiated between great powers rather than between the combatants would reset several prices at once. European defence budgets, euro-area sovereign spreads and the discount on Russian-linked energy all currently assume the war continues, and a summit that excludes the country being fought over is a different kind of event from a ceasefire negotiation^1,7.

The signal to watch is whether Washington confirms a date. So far the only confirmation has come from the Kremlin³, with Russian officials pointing to the Asia-Pacific summit in China as the venue⁸. Kyiv’s public position is that the format itself is the concession¹⁰, and Zelensky’s charge that the pressure is being applied to Ukraine rather than to Russia has not been withdrawn⁹. Until an American schedule exists, this remains a Russian proposal reported by Western outlets^1,4.