Russia Says Putin, Xi and Trump Could Meet Face-to-Face at APEC Summit

Moscow says the groundwork is being laid for a three-way meeting of the Chinese, US and Russian presidents. Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov told reporters on Thursday that planning is underway for Vladimir Putin, Xi Jinping and Donald Trump to sit down together at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in Shenzhen next week. He offered no further detail, saying only that everything is still in progress.

The idea started on the American side. Trump had said he hoped to meet both Xi and Putin in China, and Beijing has called the encounter likely. Neither Washington nor Beijing has officially confirmed it will happen, leaving Ryabkov's comments as the clearest signal yet that logistics are moving.

Speaking separately to the Russian outlet Russia Times, Ryabkov downplayed expectations of a diplomatic reset. He said it's wrong to talk about restoring trust between the parties right now, pointing to the recent trilateral talks in Abu Dhabi. But he added that with the necessary political will, something functional could still be built.

Pressure from Europe isn't easing while the summit talk plays out. French Minister Delegate for European Affairs Benjamin Haddad said Thursday that the EU will roll out fresh sanctions against Russia on Monday, hitting 150 additional entities and 50 banks. France, he said, proposed most of the entities on the list. Haddad also condemned Russia's ban on two French lawmakers, Sacha Houlie and Arthur Delaporte, and two journalists.