Washington, 21 October. Vladimir Putin proposed holding a trilateral meeting in November with US President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping, The Wall Street Journal reports; according to the newspaper, the fate of Ukraine would also be discussed.
In a separate piece the WSJ editorial board writes that Trump himself is seeking such a summit, which could lead to a new division of the world into spheres of influence, and compares the possible meeting with the 1945 Yalta Conference. In the editors' view, Trump has long been interested in big deals with Russia and China.
The Yalta Conference was the February 1945 meeting of Stalin, Roosevelt and Churchill at which the leaders of the three powers agreed on the post-war order of Europe and the world; since then its name has been used to describe a deal between great powers made over the heads of other countries.
What it means: According to an American newspaper, Moscow proposes discussing the future of Ukraine and the world in a three-way format with the US and China, and the newspaper itself believes Trump is inclined to do so.
Who benefits: Such a format suits great powers that would settle issues among themselves; by the logic of such a summit, Ukraine and Europe would be at the table without a decisive vote. There is no official reaction from the Kremlin or the White House in the reports.
Background: The comparison with Yalta is the assessment of the WSJ editorial board, not the official position of any side.
List of sources used: Ulysmedia, TASS
Artificial intelligence was used in preparing this material.
