Putin Floats Summit With Trump and Xi as Witkoff Prepares Ukraine Proposal Visit to Russia
Photo: AxiosRussian President Vladimir Putin has floated a summit with President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping, the Wall Street Journal reported, saying he raised it in a phone call with Trump earlier this month. Kremlin spokesman Dmitri Peskov confirmed the pitch and said all three sides were open to it, though there is no clear agenda. Axios reported Trump wants the summit in China next month to discuss denuclearization, not necessarily Ukraine. Zelensky and European allies would not attend. Axios also said envoy Steve Witkoff will bring Putin an updated peace proposal in St. Petersburg on Wednesday. On Monday, Zelensky said Russia struck Ukrainian energy and other infrastructure overnight, with no warning from partners.
Left-leaning Slate casts the summit idea as a poisoned lure that appeals to Trump and shuts out Ukraine, while CBS leads with Zelensky's complaints about U.S. intelligence and eased Russian energy sanctions, plus the Pentagon's denial of any change. Alternative-source Axios stresses Trump's interest and the nuclear focus. Right-leaning Washington Examiner highlights China's role and Europe's alarm, citing Peskov; Newsmax leads with Witkoff's mission.
How the sides differ Left sources stress Ukraine's exclusion and U.S.-Kyiv tension; alternative sources stress Trump's interest in nuclear talks; right sources focus on China's role and Witkoff's mission.
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Slate calls the summit idea a trap that flatters Trump and sidelines Ukraine and Europe. CBS leads with Zelensky's complaints about U.S. intelligence and sanctions, and the Pentagon's denial.
Axios leads with Trump's openness to a summit with Xi and Putin in China next month, framed around denuclearization rather than necessarily Ukraine, and calls it unprecedented.
The Washington Examiner stresses China's role and Ukrainian and European alarm, citing the Kremlin's Peskov. Newsmax leads with Witkoff's planned St. Petersburg meeting with Putin.