Trump-Putin-Xi trilateral talks: Iran war, nuclear arms control on agenda, Ukraine unlikely to feature
The next week’s trilateral meeting between America’s Donald Trump, Russia’s Vladimir Putin and China’s Xi Jinping would be crucial. The three leaders would hold talks multiple issues, as the world goes through a turmoil and deals with a crisis owing to the Iran war and the Middle East conflict.
One would easily expect that the two conflicts would likely be raised during the trilateral meeting but a US official has said that Trump would discuss the Iran, but not the Ukraine conflict. This is due to the fact that China is not involved in negotiations, even though Beijing has offered to mediate between Moscow and Kyiv.
“I think the president does intend to talk about Iran in the trilateral meeting with Xi Jinping and Vladimir Putin,” the US official said, as cited by AFP. “China is not really a part of that track, so it doesn’t seem appropriate to have the Ukraine discussion there.”
The trilateral talks on Ukraine
This week, the US, Ukraine and Russia held a trilateral talk in Abu Dhabi, aiming to bring an end to the conflict in Europe that began in February 2022; however, no breakthrough was achieved. On Friday, Ukraine’s Volodymyr Zelenskyy said the US wants Kyiv to give up the eastern Donbas region in return for a NATO membership.
The Russians have been eyeing the Donbas region, which is rich in minerals and was crucial for the Soviet Union. However, Zelenskyy has categorically rejected that Donbas would not be ceded to Russia, as he stressed that his country should be given security guarantees.
Coming to China, President Xi has repeatedly offered to mediate between Russia and Ukraine, which Moscow has welcomed. However, China is not involved much in talks as of now.
Focus on Iran war, nuclear weapons?
The US official has confirmed to AFP that talks would be held on Iran war during the trilateral meeting, as both China and Russia are involved in it. Beijing and Moscow have largely been pro-Iran, and opposed the military action by the US, calling for an immediate de-escalation in the region.
The two countries are strategic partners of Iran, which is essential for them in countering the American influence in the region. Russia has been more vocal about its stand, though, while China has been advocating for diplomacy to resolving the conflict that began on February 28 this year.
This will be one of the key issues of the meeting, along with a discussion on the nuclear arms control agreement and the use of artificial intelligence (AI) in regulating nuclear arsenals. “The president has made it clear that, among other topics, he will discuss the reduction of nuclear weapons in the world, whose proliferation President Trump believes is very dangerous,” BBC quoted White House spokeswoman Olivia Wales as saying.
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