Putin plans China trip but likely to skip G20 in Miami - Bloomberg
Russian leader Vladimir Putin is expected to skip the G20 summit in Miami in December and instead attend November's APEC summit in China, as Moscow sees little prospect of progress in peace talks before the G20, Bloomberg reported.
Putin plans to attend the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in Shenzhen on Nov. 18-19, according to people close to the Kremlin who spoke to Bloomberg on condition of anonymity.
It would be Putin's first in-person appearance at an APEC summit since 2017.
The sources said there was only a “very slim prospect” of Putin attending the G20 summit in Florida on Dec. 14-15. Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov did not respond to Bloomberg's request for comment.
Russian officials have also discussed the possibility of an unprecedented trilateral meeting between Putin, US President Donald Trump and Chinese leader Xi Jinping on the sidelines of APEC.
Kremlin foreign policy aide Yuri Ushakov said earlier in September that Putin and Xi had discussed the idea and that such a meeting would depend on whether Trump attends the summit.
Bloomberg's sources said Russian officials expect practically no progress in negotiations to end the war in Ukraine before the G20 and are becoming increasingly disappointed with Trump's envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner.
Putin has largely avoided multilateral forums attended by Ukraine's Western allies since Russia launched its full-scale invasion in 2022. His international travel has also been complicated by a 2023 International Criminal Court arrest warrant over the alleged unlawful deportation of Ukrainian children.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on Sept. 21 that he was prepared to attend the G20 summit in Miami and meet Putin there if the Russian leader attended.
“What matters is only the result,” Zelenskyy said.
Zelenskyy is scheduled to meet Trump on Sept. 22 on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in New York.
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