US President Donald Trump plans to meet Putin and Xi in China next week

U.S. President Donald Trump has said he will likely be meeting with the leaders of Russia and China at an Asia-Pacific summit in the southern Chinese city of Shenzhen next week. Trump told reporters that he expects the meeting with Russia's Vladimir Putin and China's Xi Jinping to cover the war and denuclearization. U.S. media have reported that Putin wanted the three-way talks to take place in order to broker a peace deal in Ukraine. That would be favourable to Moscow, whose invasion of Ukraine in 2022 is now well into its fifth year. The meeting would be the most recent indication of Trump's willingness to end Russia's subsequent diplomatic isolation. While being tough on traditional allies in liberal democracies in Europe and its northern and southern neighbors, Canada and Mexico, separate U.S.-mediated talks between Russia and Ukraine are set to take place in Abu Dhabi this week, with European officials also set to be present at the table.