Moscow proposes summit that would bring Donald Trump and Xi Jinping to the same table while excluding Ukraine and the EU. The initiative, advanced in diplomatic messaging from Moscow, reframes the conflict as a subject for great-power negotiation rather than a dispute involving the government that suffered the invasion. Such a format would alter the terms of engagement and shift attention away from multilateral processes that have guided responses since 2022.
The immediate objective for Russia appears to be a diplomatic reset that elevates bilateral bargaining with major powers. A summit with two influential international figures offers an opportunity to pursue outcomes that could reduce political isolation, seek relief from economic pressure, and secure arrangements that entrench gains achieved on the ground. Excluding Kyiv and European partners removes actors whose consent and security concerns are central to any sustainable settlement, concentrating decision-making among capitals with global reach rather than among those directly affected.
Beijing’s potential participation would carry strategic benefits: engagement at the table could reinforce a role as a stabilizer and broker in international affairs, protect trade and energy ties with both Moscow and Europe, and promote a vision of diplomacy led by a different set of actors. For Donald Trump, attendance would offer high-profile influence over any US positioning on the conflict and the prospect of shaping outcomes that align with his foreign-policy preferences. Both China and the United States retain economic and political levers that could make a compact attractive in narrowly defined terms, even as broader legal and normative questions remain unresolved.
The exclusion of Kyiv and the EU would carry immediate diplomatic consequences: it risks delegitimizing processes that have emphasized Ukrainian sovereignty, could deepen transatlantic tensions if capitals view the move as bypassing allied consultation, and would place Ukraine in the position of responding to decisions made without its input. The summit’s feasibility and impact will depend on domestic politics in the involved countries and on how other international actors respond — whether by seeking parallel forums that include Kyiv or by reinforcing existing multilateral frameworks to preserve principles of consent and territorial integrity.
