Trump to meet Xi and Putin for first-ever summit over a deal he’s long sought: report

President Donald Trump will meet with Chinese President Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin next Thursday in China for talks expected to center on a nuclear arms deal Trump has sought since his first term, the New York Post reported in an exclusive Friday.

“It will be the first-ever trilateral meeting between leaders of the three countries,” the Post’s Steven Nelson reported. The summit is expected to take place on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation conference in Shenzhen.

For Trump, the meeting offers a chance to turn a year-old proposal into negotiations with both Beijing and Moscow. He has argued that maintaining vast nuclear stockpiles is unnecessarily expensive.

“Trump already all-but confirmed plans for the summit among the three nations that control most of the world’s nuclear weapons,” according to the Post.

The sit-down could also delve into other global issues. A White House official told the outlet leaders could also discuss the war in Iran and North Korea. Russia’s war in Ukraine could come up as well, though the Post reported the issue was “not a top agenda item.”

Trump previewed the possible meeting Sunday.

“We’ll talk a lot of things, including denuclearization,” he told reporters. “But we’ll be talking a lot of things. We’re trying to end the war in Iran, and we’re doing well.”