Trump expects Xi and Putin meetings at China APEC summit; Iran war, denuclearization on agenda
November 13, 9:15pm Sydney update
The Philippines is hosting the ASEAN summit and related meetings from November 15 to 17. ASEAN spokesperson Dominic Xavier Imperial said Trump was expected in Manila on November 17 for the ASEAN-US Special Summit, with a bilateral meeting with President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. planned.
Trump is then expected to travel to the APEC meeting in Shenzhen. Attendance and bilateral meeting plans are prospective arrangements, not completed talks or signed agreements.
Earlier reporting retained for context
US President Donald Trump said on Sunday he expects to meet Chinese President Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin at next week's Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) leaders' summit in China. Ending the continuing war in Iran and denuclearization will be on the talks agenda, he said.
Speaking to reporters before returning to Washington from Florida, Trump confirmed he would travel to China for the APEC summit, to be held on November 18-19 in Shenzhen, the southern Chinese technology hub. "I think one of the meetings will be with President Putin and President Xi; it will be interesting. We are talking about many things including denuclearization. We are trying to bring the Iran war to an end," he said.
Last October, Trump said he remained open to joining trilateral arms control talks with Xi and Putin, saying those talks would focus on denuclearization. Putin has proposed using a trilateral meeting to discuss ending the long-running Russia-Ukraine war, an American newspaper reported.
In a US television interview, Trump said he believed they were "very close" to reaching an agreement to end the Russia-Ukraine war, though he gave no details beyond saying it would create "a somewhat differently shaped Ukraine." The possibility of the three countries' leaders meeting on one stage has added a new diplomatic dimension to the developments in two wars, Iran and Ukraine, political observers say.
