Ukraine pushes back on proposed Trump-Putin-Xi meeting
Photo: Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha (Getty Images)
Ukraine opposed trilateral talks between Russia, the US, and China without Kyiv and proposed an alternative format that could help end the war, according to Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha.
He criticized the idea of a trilateral meeting involving US President Donald Trump, Chinese President Xi Jinping, and Russian leader Vladimir Putin.
In his view, negotiations in such a format without Ukraine's participation could fail to bring an end to the war closer and instead encourage Moscow to continue its aggression.
Instead, a meeting involving the leaders of Ukraine, the US, and Russia could help end the war more quickly.
"Inviting Putin to such a meeting would feed his appetite for self-aggrandizement and give him a stature he does not deserve. He is not a global leader; he is a war criminal. And Russia is not a global power; it is a global problem," the foreign minister stressed.
Explaining his position, the foreign minister drew attention to Russia's economic situation and the losses suffered by its army in the war against Ukraine.
According to the minister, the Russian economy is at least 13 times smaller than the American economy and eight times smaller than the Chinese economy. Sybiha adds that Russia's economy continues to decline and Russians' standard of living is deteriorating.
He also stated that Russia has lost 1.6 million military personnel, killed and wounded, in a war it cannot win and does not want to end.
The minister also mentioned the consequences of international sanctions. According to him, under their pressure, Russian technology, industry, and businesses are stagnating.
"By any pragmatic or moral measure, Putin has no place at the table with presidents Trump and Xi," he emphasized.
Sybiha identified a step that could demonstrate Moscow's serious intentions to end the war.
"The only thing that could earn him that seat is a serious step toward peace, such as accepting a ceasefire proposal before any such meeting," he explained.
However, Ukraine currently sees the opposite trend — an escalation of Russian terror against the civilian population.
"As long as he continues this terror, there should be no place for him at any table," the minister concluded.
According to the WSJ, the Kremlin acknowledged the possibility of a trilateral meeting involving Vladimir Putin, Donald Trump, and Xi Jinping on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit in China.
Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said that all three parties acknowledge the hypothetical possibility of such a meeting, but there is still no clear understanding of whether it will take place or what its agenda would be.
