Possible Xi-Trump-Putin summit raises Yalta fears

A possible meeting between Xi Jinping, Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin at the November 18-19 APEC summit in Shenzhen has raised fears that major powers could try to decide the security interests of others without them, analysts and officials said.

Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky has warned that such a meeting could resemble a modern version of the 1945 Yalta Conference, where Allied leaders set out parts of the post-World War II order in Europe. Analysts cited in the item said the concern is that Ukraine, Europe, Taiwan and others could be sidelined.

Tsiporah Fried of the Hudson Institute said the format would signal “who counts, and whose interests can be negotiated by others”.

But analysts also said a sweeping agreement was unlikely because Beijing, Washington and Moscow have different priorities. Russia has suggested focusing on Ukraine, Trump has pushed for talks on nuclear weapons and the Iran war, and China has kept its position limited in public.

Wang Wen of Renmin University in Beijing said the three sides had “vastly different demands” and that talks could end without a breakthrough. He said smaller outcomes, such as crisis hotlines or cooperation on counter-terrorism, public health or climate change, were more likely.

China has repeatedly said Europe should be included in peace negotiations over Ukraine. German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier said Xi showed “irritation” when the idea of trilateral talks covering Ukraine came up and said Europeans must be at the table.

Wen-Ti Sung of Australian National University said Taiwan would still watch the meeting closely because of concerns over whether US partners could be abandoned for convenience.