Putin Floats Trump-Xi Summit on Ukraine Without Zelensky, WSJ Reports

Russian President Vladimir Putin has proposed that he, President Trump and Chinese leader Xi Jinping meet next month to talk about ending the war in Ukraine, the Wall Street Journal reported late on Sunday, October 18. According to a former Russian intelligence officer briefed on the matter, Putin floated the idea in an October 9 phone call with Trump, the same call that produced a deal for the U.S. to buy Russian diesel fuel and facilitate its sale on the global market. The Kremlin suggested holding the talks on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in Shenzhen on November 18 and 19.

The proposed format notably leaves out Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said there is "no clear understanding yet regarding the meeting itself or its potential agenda," while a senior U.S. official said Trump had not agreed to such a summit but could be receptive to the idea. Russian officials raised the proposal with Beijing, which indicated it would not object if Trump is on board.

The proposal lands days after Trump halted implementation of sanctions on Russia under a bipartisan bill he signed last month. The diesel deal is aimed at lowering U.S. fuel prices, which have weighed on the economy ahead of the midterm elections. Separately, Zelensky said on Sunday he was holding talks with Trump's envoys with a view to arranging a new peace meeting as early as this week.

No market reaction was reported in the sources. For investors, the channels to watch are energy supply, where the diesel arrangement already targets U.S. fuel prices, and European security policy, where a settlement negotiated without Kyiv would test allied cohesion. Any formal confirmation of the meeting or its agenda would be the next signal.