U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Oct. 19 he believed a leaders’ meeting had been discussed but did not know if a plan was final as Washington pursued an end to Russia’s war in Ukraine.
The Wall Street Journal reported, citing people familiar with the discussions, that Russian President Vladimir Putin proposed meeting U.S. President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping to discuss the war. Rubio did not confirm the proposed participants or agenda. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov described the possibility as hypothetical.
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha has objected to the proposed Russia-China-U.S. meeting without Ukraine. He warned that excluding Kyiv would encourage Putin to continue the war and favored talks involving Ukraine, the United States and Russia.
Rubio said the war had no positive outcome and warned of escalation into another country.
Rubio said electronic warfare could send a drone into a neighboring country. A failed sabotage attempt could also cause the conflict to spread, he said. The Wall Street Journal reported that a leaders’ meeting was under consideration, but Rubio gave no confirmed plan or date.
