Trump Says He'd Join Xi and Putin for Denuclearization Talks

President Donald Trump said Monday he has not agreed to a three-way meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping, “but I would do it,” and said such a summit would focus on nuclear weapons rather than the war in Ukraine, according to video posted by the White House’s Rapid Response account on X.

“No, but I would do it,” Trump said when a reporter asked whether he had agreed to the meeting, according to the clip. “We would have it to talk about nuclear weapons and denuclearization.”

Trump says he is open to a trilateral summit with Chinese President Xi and Russian President Putin to discuss denuclearization

— Barak Ravid (@BarakRavid) October 19, 2026

Trump expanded on the idea in the same exchange with reporters. “Any time I can have a meeting on denuclearization, I would do that,” he said, according to a transcript published by Kurdistan24. “We have more nuclear weapons than anybody. Russia is second. China is third, but catching up.” He added that “if President Xi wants to have it, I’d have it,” and that trade would likely come up as well, Kurdistan24 reported.

Not about Ukraine, Trump says

Asked whether the summit could be used to end the war in Ukraine, Trump said he would hold it “not so much for Ukraine,” according to Axios. Trump said Russia “frankly, has been fine on Ukraine,” Kurdistan24 reported.

Trump is expected to travel to China in mid-November for the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation leaders’ meeting in Shenzhen, according to Axios. Axios reported that such a summit among the leaders of the United States, China and Russia would be unprecedented, and that Trump has talked for two years about reaching a deal with Moscow and Beijing to reduce nuclear arsenals.

Moscow floated it, Beijing silent

The Kremlin has floated the idea since July, and Putin raised it in two phone calls with Trump, including one last week, according to Axios. The Chinese government has not said it is willing to hold such a summit, Axios reported.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Monday that the idea of a three-way meeting on the sidelines of the APEC summit had come up in talks, but that no specific proposals, agreement or agenda had been put forward by anyone, according to Reuters as published by Dawn.

Peskov was responding to a Wall Street Journal report that Putin had proposed the meeting to discuss ending the conflict in Ukraine, according to Dawn.

CNN’s Kylie Atwood noted on X that Trump said “they do want to have a mtg at my suggestion… on denuclearization,” but that it was unclear whether China and Russia had actually agreed to a nuclear-focused meeting. No date has been set.

Kyiv objects

Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha criticized the idea on X, arguing that a meeting of the leaders of Russia, China and the United States would only encourage Putin to keep fighting, while a meeting of the leaders of Ukraine, the United States and Russia could help end the war sooner, according to Dawn.

Daily Beltway reported Putin’s proposal on Sunday evening, citing the Wall Street Journal. Trump’s remarks on Monday were his first on-camera answer on whether he would join.

Sources

• Rapid Response 47 on X: Trump on a trilateral meeting
• Axios: Trump open to summit with Xi and Putin
• Reuters via Dawn: Kremlin says three-way meeting could happen in China
• Kurdistan24: Trump remarks transcript
• NDTV: Trump ready to meet Putin and Xi
• Barak Ravid (Axios) on X
• Kylie Atwood (CNN) on X

Reporting by Daily Beltway.