Speaking to reporters while departing the White House en route to a campaign rally in Kansas, Trump said he would meet Russia's Vladimir Putin and China's Xi Jinping to seek an end to the war in Ukraine, and suggested the conversation could proceed without Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy present. He added he would take the meeting "if President Xi wants to have it," and said trade would likely be on the agenda.
According to the Wall Street Journal, Putin proposed a three-way session with Xi when he spoke with Trump by phone on Oct. 9, with next month as a possible window. The Journal said it could be held alongside the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in Shenzhen on Nov. 18 and 19.
Trump said he is "not looking to break up negotiations" with Putin regarding Ukraine and Iran, diesel supplies, and freeing hostages. He drew bipartisan criticism after unveiling an arrangement that would let Russia sell diesel internationally even though sanctions remain in force.
Strains between Trump and Zelenskyy have grown, with the U.S. giving Russia - which invaded Ukraine in 2022 - several reprieves. Zelenskyy condemned Trump's move to waive key provisions of a Russian sanctions bill that won broad bipartisan passage in Congress last month, adding that, in his view, Trump stands on the wrong side of history. Trump responded, "Zelenskyy doesn't know what he's talking about," arguing the war "should have had this war settled a long time ago," and adding, "I think it's time for somebody else to negotiate on behalf of Ukraine," echoing his earlier appeal for Kyiv to "get a new president."
After conferring with U.S. lawmakers from both parties in the House and Senate, Zelenskyy said SpaceX's Starlink and Starshield services "have recently been degraded," and added that U.S. intelligence sharing was also disrupted, leaving Ukraine with no prior notice of Russian attacks. "No explanation for either of these issues has been provided to Ukraine by the American side," he said.
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Trump said he doesn't know who ordered the Starlink interruption, "But I'd like to find out." Musk said last week the U.S. government and Trump are "ultimately" responsible for any slowdowns. Rubio denied the U.S. caused the interruption, while Bessent warned Zelenskyy to be "very careful about making statements like this that aren't true."
Sens. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., and Thom Tillis, R-N.C., later said in a joint statement, "Funding Russia's war machine, disabling Ukraine's satellite communications, and crippling its air defense are all impediments to peace," adding, "Trying to appease a murderous thug like Vladimir Putin will only prolong this war and bring greater casualties."
A Putin-Xi-Trump meeting would put sanctions, energy trade and defense risk in the same room, right as Shenzhen hosts APEC. Any shift on waivers or diesel flows could ripple through fuel pricing and shipping, while degraded Ukrainian communications and disrupted intelligence sharing underline operational risk that can change battlefield momentum. The bottom line: policy signals around Ukraine, Iran and energy are stacking up into event risk for your portfolio.
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