World · Europe · 11 hrs ago
Steinmeier says Xi is not preparing a Ukraine summit with US and Russia
German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier says Xi Jinping is not preparing a Ukraine summit with the US and Russia.
Steinmeier said he raised the idea with Xi during a meeting in Beijing on Oct.
30.
Xi said Europeans should be involved because the war is taking place in Europe.
US President Donald Trump, Russian President Vladimir Putin and Xi may meet at the APEC summit in Shenzhen in mid-November, but Ukraine is not currently part of the preparations.
Trump has said he is open to discussing arms control and denuclearization with Putin and Xi, while Putin is reported to want a Ukraine deal favorable to Moscow.
Russia and China are preparing for a Putin-Xi meeting, but the Kremlin says details of a possible three-way meeting with Trump are not settled.
Ukraine opposes talks that exclude it and has called for President Volodymyr Zelensky to join Trump and Putin in negotiations.
German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier said Xi Jinping showed no interest in hosting a three-way Ukraine summit with the United States and Russia.
Steinmeier said Xi told him there were no preparations for such talks and that European officials should be involved.
The two leaders discussed the proposal during a meeting in Beijing on Oct. 30.
A meeting between Xi, U.S. President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin may take place at the APEC summit in Shenzhen in mid-November, but its agenda is unclear.
Ukraine has opposed a peace summit in China that excludes it and has urged talks involving President Volodymyr Zelensky.
- Who
- German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier said Chinese President Xi Jinping was not preparing a Ukraine summit with the United States and Russia.
- What
- Steinmeier said Xi showed no interest in hosting three-way Ukraine talks.
- When
- Steinmeier spoke about the conversation on Nov. 1; he had met Xi on Oct. 30.
- Where
- Beijing, China.
- Why
- Xi said the conflict was in Europe and that European officials should be involved in resolving it.
Ukraine
Proponents of a three-way summit without Ukraine
Participation
Ukraine
Ukraine has opposed a peace summit in China without Ukraine at the table.
Proponents of a three-way summit without Ukraine
The proposed meeting would involve the leaders of China, Russia and the United States; Ukraine would not be among them.
Purpose
Ukraine
Ukraine has urged a meeting involving President Volodymyr Zelensky, Trump and Putin to negotiate an end to the war.
Proponents of a three-way summit without Ukraine
Putin reportedly wanted to use a meeting to secure a peace deal favorable to Moscow; Trump said he was open to discussing Ukraine.
Steinmeier met Xi Jinping in Beijing and raised the possibility of a Ukraine summit.
Steinmeier said Xi showed no interest in preparations for a three-way Ukraine summit.
Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said preparations were under way for a meeting between Putin and Xi at the APEC summit, but gave no details about a possible three-way meeting with Trump.
APEC is due to meet in Shenzhen, where Trump, Putin and Xi may meet.
- German president
- Frank-Walter Steinmeier
- Chinese president
- Xi Jinping
- Meeting date
- Oct. 30, 2026
- Meeting location
- Beijing, China
- Possible summit venue
- APEC meeting in Shenzhen
- Ukraine's president
- Volodymyr Zelensky
3 sources
What people are saying
From Xi's perspective, there are no preparations underway for Chinese-hosted Ukraine talks
There is, in his view, no preparation on the horizon for a Ukraine summit involving the USA, Russia and China
He explicitly pointed out that this was a European conflict in which the Europeans would have to sit at the table