Russia has dismissed recent Western media reports suggesting that a trilateral summit involving U.S. President Donald Trump, Chinese President Xi Jinping, and Russian President Vladimir Putin could take place in China this September.
On Saturday, The Times reported that Xi was considering hosting such a summit ahead of a major military parade marking the 80th anniversary of Japan’s defeat in World War II. However, on Sunday, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov denied the claims, telling Russian state news agency TASS, “We know nothing about the possibility of such a meeting.”
Peskov acknowledged that a bilateral meeting between Trump and Putin is “possible, and in time it will definitely happen,” but emphasized that any such encounter would require substantial groundwork. “It is essential,” he said, “but this time has not yet come. This work still needs to be done.”
Tensions between Trump and Putin have grown in recent weeks. On July 3, the two leaders reportedly engaged in a heated phone call during which Trump threatened to impose sanctions unless Russia agreed to a ceasefire in Ukraine. Since then, Trump has publicly expressed frustration with the Russian president and issued a 50-day ultimatum: end the war in Ukraine or face 100% tariffs on Russia’s key trading partners—including China.
A Trump visit to China for any diplomatic summit remains unlikely given the ongoing strain in U.S.-China relations. Following a brief trade war in April and May, Trump has signaled the potential for renewed economic confrontation, threatening to revoke recent bilateral agreements and impose sweeping tariffs if China continues its support for Moscow.
Despite these rising tensions, Trump has repeatedly insisted that he could resolve geopolitical conflicts with both Russia and China through direct engagement with their leaders—an approach both Moscow and Beijing do not believe in as a meeting between leaders should come after the necessary agreements had been made by their respective negotiating teams.