Iran war, nuclear arms cuts: What is on the agenda for Trump-Putin-Xi talks?

WASHINGTON: The US-Israeli war against Iran, global nuclear arms reduction and the future of nuclear arms control are expected to dominate a historic trilateral meeting between US President Donald Trump, Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping in China next Thursday, the White House said on Friday.

The three leaders are scheduled to meet on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum in Shenzhen, bringing together the heads of the world’s three largest nuclear powers for their first joint meeting.

A senior Trump administration official confirmed that Iran would feature in the discussions, while Trump also intends to push for reductions in nuclear weapons stockpiles. However, Russia’s war in Ukraine is not expected to be discussed.

The war between Iran and the United States and Israel began on February 28, when US and Israeli forces launched coordinated strikes on Iranian military and nuclear facilities, as well as leadership targets, killing several senior officials and assassinating Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

Iran retaliated with missile and drone attacks targeting Israel and US military installations across the Gulf, while the conflict also drew in Iran-backed Hezbollah in Lebanon. Tehran also moved to restrict shipping through the Strait of Hormuz, a critical global transit route for oil and gas. An April ceasefire and a June memorandum of understanding led by Pakistan and Qatar aimed at ending hostilities failed to produce a lasting settlement. Fighting subsequently resumed, and the agreement collapsed in August, prompting Washington to impose a naval blockade on Iranian ports. Hostilities remain intermittent despite diplomatic efforts, with Tehran and Washington exchanging messages through mediators but failing to secure a breakthrough.

White House spokeswoman Olivia Wales said Trump would raise the need to reduce nuclear weapons worldwide, describing their proliferation as a serious danger.

Iran war among key discussion points

The US-Israeli war against Iran is expected to be one of the central geopolitical issues raised by Trump during the meeting, according to a senior US administration official.

The discussions will bring together Washington, Moscow and Beijing at a time when the three countries have differing positions on major international security issues.

However, the official did not provide further details about what aspects of the Iran conflict Trump intended to discuss with Putin and Xi.

Nuclear arms reduction and China’s position

Nuclear disarmament is expected to be another major subject, with Trump seeking to bring China into discussions on reducing the world’s nuclear arsenals alongside the United States and Russia.

The US president’s push for a three-way nuclear arms reduction initiative has met resistance from Beijing, which has repeatedly argued that Washington and Moscow should take the lead because they possess significantly larger nuclear stockpiles.

Russia has the world’s largest inventory of stored nuclear warheads, followed by the United States and China, according to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute.

The expiration of the New Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (New START) between Washington and Moscow this year has added urgency to discussions about the future of nuclear arms control.

A senior US official acknowledged that the meeting was unlikely to produce an agreement on nuclear reductions, describing the discussions as an initial step towards future engagement.

“We do not expect to get to any kind of agreement,” the official said, adding that China had been reluctant to engage directly on the issue.

The official said Washington believed Beijing should become more involved in discussions about nuclear weapons.

“This is the beginning of hopefully a conversation that can be productive going forward,” the official added.

It remained unclear whether Putin or Xi intended to engage in substantive discussions on nuclear arms reductions during the meeting.

Ukraine war excluded from agenda

Despite Putin’s participation, Trump’s meeting with the Russian leader is not expected to address the war in Ukraine.

The US administration said Washington had held several recent discussions with Moscow on the conflict, but China was not part of that diplomatic track.

“We’ve had many meetings recently with the Russians, but China is not really a part of that track, so it doesn’t seem appropriate to have the Ukraine discussion there,” the senior official said.

Trump is also not expected to hold a separate bilateral meeting with Putin or discuss Ukraine’s access to satellite communications services provided by Elon Musk’s SpaceX.

Musk will accompany Trump on his trip to China but will not participate in the trilateral meeting with Putin and Xi. The US president is scheduled to leave on Monday for a four-day Asian tour, which will also include a stop in the Philippines before his meetings in China.