Moscow. There may be a bilateral meeting between Russian President Vladimir Putin and US President Donald Trump during the APEC Summit. Russian news agency TASSS reported on Sunday that Russian President Vladimir Putin may meet his American counterpart Donald Trump during the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit. The Kremlin has also made it clear that the possibility of a trilateral meeting of the leaders of Russia, China and America cannot be ruled out.
Kremlin aide Yuri Ushakov said Putin and Trump both plan to attend the APEC summit. Moscow will try to organize separate bilateral meetings for the Russian president, including with Chinese President Xi Jinping.
Ushakov said all the leaders plan to attend the APEC summit. Naturally we will try to organize separate meetings for our leader, including a meeting with President Xi Jinping. And if the opportunity arises, our leaders will also meet the President of America. He also said that if there is a Putin-Trump meeting, the topic of conversation will depend on the duration of the meeting.
Meanwhile, Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov said that the possibility of a trilateral meeting of the leaders of Russia, China and America cannot be ruled out, although preparations for such a meeting have not started yet. Ryabkov told TASSS that the idea exists and has been put forward on a public platform. However, it would be an exaggeration to say that it is moving into the preparation stage.
He stressed that the main question would be to decide the concrete agenda and expected outcome of such a meeting. He said that here again the main question is how the concrete side will be prepared and what can we expect as a result. Ryabkov further said that the trilateral format involving the leaders of Russia, China and America has not yet come into practice. He did not rule out any possibilities, but declined to add anything else at the moment on a practical level.
At the same time, in the context of US-Russia diplomatic contacts, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Sunday that President Putin's meeting with US President Trump's special envoy Steve Witkoff and Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner has shown an atmosphere of trust through this medium of communication. Peskov further said that the very existence of the meeting is proof that at least through this means of communication, an atmosphere of trust exists and is getting stronger.