German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier said China is not interested in holding a trilateral summit with Russia and the United States to discuss ways of ending the war in Ukraine. He made the remarks in an interview with the German broadcaster ARD.
Steinmeier said he raised the issue during his meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping in Beijing on 30 October. According to the German president, Xi made clear that no preparations are under way for a summit on Ukraine involving the United States, Russia and China. The Chinese leader stressed that the conflict in Ukraine is a European one and that Europeans should also sit at the negotiating table.
At the same time, Steinmeier noted that a meeting of the three leaders is likely to take place on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit in Shenzhen in mid-November. However, he said the Ukraine issue will not be on the agenda of that meeting. When he raised the possibility of a summit on Ukraine, “one could see the look of surprise on Xi’s face.”
