Trump, Xi Jinping and Putin will hold their first three-way meeting next week on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in Shenzhen, China, the White House confirmed.
Trump plans to discuss the Iran war and nuclear arms at the talks. The meeting comes nine months after the New Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty between the US and Russia expired in February, leaving the world's two largest nuclear powers without caps on their arsenals for the first time in more than 50 years. Trump rejected Russia's proposal to extend the treaty and has demanded a "new, improved and modernized" deal that includes China.
A senior Trump administration official told Reuters the US does not expect to reach any agreement, describing the meeting as the start of a conversation. Trump will steer away from discussing Russia's war in Ukraine, according to an anonymous senior US official.
Elon Musk will travel with Trump to China but will not attend the meeting. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov called the summit "extremely significant" but dismissed comparisons to the 1945 Yalta Conference, saying any agreements reached cannot be imposed on others. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy expressed concern the meeting could become a platform to discuss a Ukraine deal behind Kyiv's back.