For the first time in history: Trump, Putin and Xi to hold a trilateral summit

The presidents of the US, Russia and China will hold the first trilateral summit in history on the sidelines of the APEC summit in Shenzhen, focusing on nuclear arms reduction. The war in Iran may be discussed, but Ukraine will not be on the agenda. The US clarifies: no agreement is expected at the end of the talks.

For the first time in history, the presidents of the United States, Russia and China – Donald Trump, Vladimir Putin and Xi Jinping – will hold a trilateral summit this Thursday in the city of Shenzhen, China, on the sidelines of the APEC summit. The meeting is intended to advance dialogue on global nuclear arms reduction, against the backdrop of the expiration of the nuclear arms control agreement between the US and Russia last February. According to sources in the US administration, the war in Iran may also be discussed, but the Ukrainian issue will not be addressed. A senior US official said there is no expectation of signing an agreement at the end of the talks, describing the meeting as a 'starting point'. The Kremlin confirmed the meeting, while Beijing refrained from full official confirmation. The summit takes place against a backdrop of complex relations between the three powers, including trade between Russia and China, a controversial US agreement to import Russian diesel, and disputes between the US and China over trade, technology and Taiwan.