The Kremlin has stated that there is a real possibility of holding a trilateral meeting of the heads of state of the United States, Russia, and China — Donald Trump, Vladimir Putin, and Xi Jinping. This was reported by RBC-Ukraine, citing TASS, as announced by Russian presidential spokesperson Dmitry Peskov. According to him, the format for such a summit could be the margins of the APEC (Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation) forum, which is scheduled to take place in Shenzhen, China.

Trilateral Summit on the Margins of APEC

As Peskov clarified, this refers specifically to a joint Russia–China–US summit on the margins of the APEC meeting in Shenzhen. In effect, this means that the American president, the Russian leader, and the head of the PRC could find themselves at the same table as early as November 18–19, 2026, in China. Thus, the potential meeting involves three key geopolitical centers at once and could become one of the most prominent diplomatic events of the autumn.

September 8 Phone Call

Peskov officially confirmed that the topic of organizing such a summit was discussed during the phone talks between Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump held on September 8. “Putin and Trump discussed during their phone call the possibility of organizing a trilateral Russia–China–US summit on the margins of the APEC summit in Shenzhen,” the Kremlin representative stated. This indicates that the initiative regarding the format of the meeting is being discussed at the level of the top officials of both countries.

Moscow's Position on Ukraine

Against this backdrop, Peskov also made a statement on the Ukraine track. He said that Moscow expects the resumption of trilateral negotiations “in the foreseeable future,” while emphasizing that specific points will not be discussed in public format: “there are as yet no formalized, integrated programs or road maps.” According to the spokesperson, there is a “common initiative, a common political desire” to move toward resuming the dialogue, and negotiations with Trump's team on this issue are ongoing.

Contradictory Data

There are discrepancies in wording and chronology across available sources. On the one hand, Peskov speaks of the “possibility” of a summit, while on the other — according to Kommersant, Russian presidential aide Ushakov formulates the condition more strictly: a meeting between Putin and Trump at the APEC summit will take place only “if both come,” meaning the status of the event remains conditional and unconfirmed. Moreover, some contextual materials (in particular, RFI's publication on the leaders' phone call) are tied to a different date and a different day count of the war than the current news from September 9, 2026, so when comparing sources it is necessary to take into account that different episodes of negotiations may be at issue. The dates of the APEC summit (November 18–19, 2026) are also not yet confirmed by the official schedule in the provided materials.

What Comes Next

At this point, the trilateral meeting has the status of a stated possibility rather than a confirmed event. The key indicators will be the official announcements of the APEC programs in Shenzhen, as well as the dynamics of bilateral contacts between Moscow and Washington. For Kyiv and other participants in the Ukrainian settlement, it is important that in parallel with discussing the “troika” format, the Kremlin is stating its intention to resume trilateral negotiations on Ukraine, without revealing details and citing the absence of a ready-made road map.