US President Donald Trump wants to hold a trilateral meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin to discuss nuclear weapons and disarmament.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio has announced that the parties are already working to arrange the meeting. He made the remarks in Paris during a press conference on the outcome of the G7 foreign ministers' meeting.
"The president wants such a meeting to take place, if possible. We believe it should be possible. Among the issues he considers necessary to discuss is the state of nuclear weapons around the world," Rubio said.
Trump is expected to meet with Putin and Xi Jinping on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit, which will be held on November 18-19 in Shenzhen, China.
A potential meeting between the leaders of the three countries would be particularly significant because it would bring the issue of nuclear weapons to the table with the direct participation of heads of state. The positions of the United States, Russia and China on this issue have a major impact on the overall international security landscape.
However, the desire to hold a meeting does not mean that the parties have reached an agreement on any issue. So far, all that is known is that preparations for the talks are underway and that the current state of nuclear weapons will be one of the main topics of discussion. A key factor in assessing further developments will be whether the three leaders can not only meet but also turn their discussions into concrete agreements.
