Kathmandu. A potential trilateral meeting between the leaders of Russia, the United States and China on the sidelines of the upcoming Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit could provide a strong positive impetus to international relations, a senior Russian diplomat has said.
Marat Berdyev, Ambassador-at-Large at the Russian Foreign Ministry, expressed optimism that a meeting involving the leaders of the three major powers could send an important positive signal amid growing geopolitical tensions.
Speaking to Russia’s Izvestia newspaper, Berdyev said dialogue among Moscow, Washington and Beijing would be particularly valuable given the challenging international situation.
He emphasized that detailed preliminary consultations would be necessary to determine the key issues and framework of such a meeting. China, as the host country, would play a special role in facilitating the process.
According to Berdyev, discussions at such a high-level meeting would likely focus on pressing international challenges that require collective responses from the world’s major powers.
APEC Summit May Provide Opportunity for Trilateral Talks
China’s Shenzhen is scheduled to host the APEC meetings on November 18–19. It will be the third time China has hosted the APEC summit, following meetings in Shanghai in 2001 and Beijing in 2014. Russian President Vladimir Putin attended both previous summits.
During the upcoming visit, Putin is also expected to hold bilateral talks with Chinese President Xi Jinping. The meeting will mark their third encounter this year. Putin visited Beijing in May, while the two leaders also met in August on the sidelines of the 25th Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) summit.
Meanwhile, a possible trilateral meeting involving the Russian, Chinese and US presidents is also being considered on the sidelines of the Shenzhen summit.
If held, the meeting could offer an important diplomatic opportunity to strengthen communication among the three major powers, address pressing global challenges and promote greater stability in international relations.
