WSJ: Putin proposed that Trump and Xi Jinping meet in November without Zelensky

Putin proposed that Donald Trump and Xi Jinping meet in November, The Wall Street Journal writes. According to the newspaper, he did so in a phone call with Trump on 9 October. A meeting at which the leaders could discuss ending Russia's war against Ukraine was discussed in that call. The publication cites a former Russian intelligence officer.

On the same day, the Trump-Putin conversation ended with an announcement about deliveries of Russian diesel fuel to the American and global markets. Both leaders reported this. Trump spoke of the agreement on the evening of 9 October, and the leaders, according to reports, agreed on deliveries of Russian diesel to world markets. The US, meanwhile, announced that it was easing sanctions against Russian diesel. According to Belarusian state media, the US Treasury suspended sanctions on imports of Russian diesel the same day.

According to Trump, Russia agreed to immediately supply more than 300,000 tonnes of diesel fuel to the American and global markets. This is the American president's claim; the terms of the deal are not disclosed in the available information. Putin's aide Yuri Ushakov described details of the conversation itself: it lasted an hour and a half, and nobody wanted to be the first to hang up.

The Russian publication Izvestia, citing Chinese ambassador to Russia Zhang Hanhui, reports that the Kremlin has confirmed that Putin plans to go to the summit of the organisation that will take place in November in Shenzhen. Donald Trump is also planning to attend the forum.

The newspaper writes that Putin proposed organising the summit precisely during the 9 October call. According to these reports, Putin, Trump and Xi Jinping could meet in November to discuss ending the fighting in Ukraine. The participation of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in the meeting is not envisaged.

The venue is described in different ways: the meeting may take place in Shenzhen, China, where the APEC summit will be held on 18-19 November. According to WSJ, as cited in other reports, the dates are 17-18 November.

Kremlin press secretary Dmitry Peskov confirmed that the possibility of a meeting of the leaders is being discussed, but there are no agreements yet. In an interview with the newspaper, the Kremlin representative said: "So far there is no clear understanding regarding the meeting itself or its potential agenda, although all three sides acknowledge the hypothetical possibility of holding such a meeting."

Trump, according to WSJ, has not yet answered Putin but, according to a senior source of the newspaper, may agree. Beijing, according to reports in Telegram channels, has signalled that it does not object to talks if Trump agrees to them. The Ukrainian side is presented in these reports only as excluded from the format: Zelensky is not on the list of participants.

After the conversation with Putin, Trump announced the diesel deal with Russia and suspended the introduction of sanctions against Moscow provided for by Lindsey Graham's law. On 18 October he explained the temporary waiver of these sanctions by saying that he did not want steps that could foolishly push Russia away from the negotiating table.

Putting these steps together: first a conversation, then a diesel deal and a pause in sanctions, and only then a report of a possible summit. Trump himself, according to the newspaper, has not yet responded to the proposal for a meeting.

Russian diesel is already linked to the Belarusian market. As of November 2022, a Russian state company was buying fuel from Belarusian refineries at prices significantly higher than Russian retail prices, and the difference was compensated by the Russian budget. It is not yet known whether the new Russia-US agreement on diesel deliveries will affect the Belarusian fuel market.