China has offered to hold a summit between Russian President Vladimir Putin and US President Donald Trump to help end the Ukraine conflict, according to the Wall Street Journal.
China has long sought to position itself as a potential peace broker in the conflict and has even presented its own roadmap to resolve the crisis.
BYPASS THE CENSORS
Sign up to get unfiltered news delivered straight to your inbox.
You can unsubscribe any time. By subscribing you agree to our Terms of Use
Latest Video
Trump has however indicated that their first meeting would “probably” take place soon in Saudi Arabia.
RT reports: The development comes after Putin and Trump held a phone conversation on Wednesday – their first confirmed contact since Trump returned to the White House last month. The leaders had a “lengthy and highly productive” conversation, according to the US president. Trump later announced that he and Putin had agreed on an “immediate” start of negotiations to resolve the Ukraine conflict.
In recent weeks, Chinese officials have put forward a proposal to the Trump team through intermediaries, suggesting a summit between the two leaders and offering to help with peacekeeping efforts following a potential truce, the WSJ reported, citing sources in Beijing and Washington.
According to the report, the Chinese offer envisions a US-Russian summit without the participation of Ukrainian leader Vladimir Zelensky. The proposal goes against the West’s long-standing commitment to involve Kiev in any conflict-related discussions.
The White House declined to confirm to the WSJ whether it had received China’s offer but dismissed it nonetheless, with a White House official describing it as “not viable at all.” The Chinese Foreign Ministry also declined to comment on the report, stating only that Beijing is “pleased” to see that Russia and the US are “strengthening ties and intensifying dialogue on a range of international issues.”
During their conversation, Trump and Putin reportedly agreed to visit each other’s countries.
The Kremlin press service has confirmed that Putin invited Trump to visit Moscow, but did not provide a time frame for any potential trip. The US president later indicated that their first meeting would “probably” take place soon in Saudi Arabia.
Trump named Saudi Arabia as a potential host for his first meeting with President Putin.
He told journalists at the Oval office: “The first time we’ll meet in Saudi Arabia, see if we get something done,” Trump told journalists in the Oval Office.
He also indicated that several meetings with Putin could take place in the coming months, saying, “We expect that he’ll come here, and I’ll go there, and we’re going to meet also, probably in Saudi Arabia“
Moscow has not commented on the US president’s statement so far.