Beijing confirms talks on possible Xi–Trump–Putin meeting

China's foreign ministry has confirmed that a historic meeting between Chinese leader Xi Jinping, US President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin is under discussion. Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning told a press briefing in Beijing this week that China is "in communication with relevant parties" about a meeting of the three heads of state. It could take place on the sidelines of the APEC summit (Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum) in the southern Chinese city of Shenzhen later this month.

Sun Yun, director of the China program at the Stimson Center, said Russia would probably use the summit to try to move China and the US closer to Moscow's positions on Ukraine. Danny Russel, a former senior US State Department official under Barack Obama and now a distinguished fellow at the Asia Society Policy Institute, said Trump's advisers have warned him to steer clear of Ukraine in the talks.

Russian strikes on Ukraine

Russia attacked Ukraine again on Saturday. Earlier, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy had repeated calls for allies to quickly supply Kyiv with missiles for the US-made Patriot system to protect Ukrainian cities. On Friday he warned that Ukrainian intelligence indicated Russia was preparing new strikes on energy, bridges across the Dnipro and civilian infrastructure, adding that it would not be easy.

Kyiv and other cities have faced near-constant attacks for several weeks. A Russian missile strike early on Saturday damaged a residential building in the capital, according to Mayor Vitali Klitschko. The city's military administration reported two people injured and damage to a building housing a kindergarten. Officials continued to warn residents of possible further strikes.

Guarantees for postwar security

Zelenskyy wants specific guarantees from Western allies on how postwar security support would work. In an interview with Ukraine's private 1+1 channel, he stressed that it must be clear on paper and asked what would happen if Russia attacked again. His remarks followed two days of allied talks in Brussels on postwar security and reconstruction, and came ahead of three-way talks planned for next week in Abu Dhabi between Ukraine, Russia and the United States — the first trilateral peace discussions since February.

The Brussels meetings brought together officials from the US, UK, France, Germany and the European Union, along with representatives of the World Bank and US investment group BlackRock, said Ukraine's lead negotiator Rustem Umerov.