Putin: "I am very much in favor of the three-party talks, but the agenda needs to be defined"... The possibility of an informal meeting was also mentioned.

Putin: "I am very much in favor of the three-party talks, but the agenda needs to be defined"... The possibility of an informal meeting was also mentioned.

Ministry of Foreign Affairs of China "Welcome Putin to attend APEC... No information to provide on 'U.S.-China-Russia talks'"

There is a precedent for the attendance of leaders of the US, China and Russia during APEC in 2017... Also interested in whether there will be a North Korea-US summit.

(Shanghai = Yonhap News) Correspondent Cha Byeong-seop = In relation to the possibility of a trilateral summit between the US, China and Russia being held during the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit to be held in China next month, mainly on the Russian side, there is an assessment that agenda setting is the key to the success of the summit.

It is known that some in China, the host country, see it as 'beneficial' for the leaders of the US, China and Russia to sit face to face at a multilateral meeting held in their country, but they are still reluctant to speak officially.

According to the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs website on the 4th (local time), Spokesperson Guo Jiaqun said about the possibility of a China-Russia summit in a Q&A with reporters the previous day, "China welcomes Russian President Vladimir Putin's attendance at the APEC summit."

In response to questions from Russian media regarding the trilateral summit between the US, China and Russia, Spokesperson Guo responded, "China, as the host country of APEC this year, would like to make new contributions to promote economic growth in the Asia-Pacific and the world," but added, "There is no information we can provide in response to the question raised."

Previously, in a letter congratulating China's National Day on the 1st, President Putin said that he expected positive results from the APEC meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping.

According to Russia's Interfax news agency, President Putin said at an event on the same day, "I know that the media is discussing the possibility of a trilateral meeting between the United States, China, and Russia," and "We are all for it."

He continued, “(The three-party talks during the APEC period) will largely depend on China, the host country, but meetings are always beneficial as they allow for the exchange of opinions and clarification of positions,” adding, “The most important thing is to identify the issues that will form the basis of the three-party summit.” “There is a need to define the agenda of this negotiation process,” he said.

Yuri Ushakov, a Kremlin foreign policy adviser, said in an interview last month that "President Xi is likely to take steps to hold three-party talks," and added, "If the three leaders meet, I think it is natural for them to hold talks."

Chinese Ambassador to Russia Zhang Hanhui said that the three-party talks would be "very beneficial," and added, "If we can achieve these three-party talks, I think it will be very beneficial to the development and formation of a multipolar world."

The leaders of the United States and China held a summit meeting on the 24th of last month and confirmed their mutual intention to attend the APEC summit in China in November and the G20 summit to be held in the United States in December.

Professor Liu Xu of Renmin University said in an interview with the South China Morning Post (SCMP) that the possibility of a three-party summit is "still high" and that it will be an opportunity for President Putin to show that Russia is still a major player on the international stage.

On the other hand, Sun Chenghao, a researcher at Tsinghua University's Center for Strategic and Security Studies, said that the attendance of the three leaders at the APEC summit does not mean that an official three-party meeting will be held, and instead raised the possibility of holding an informal meeting.

Yonhap Newspaper, a Chinese media outlet, explained that at the 2017 APEC summit held in Vietnam, President Trump, President Xi, and President Putin all attended and took commemorative photos, but there was no trilateral summit.

He continued, “(This time) it is easy to take pictures together, but it is difficult to sit in one place,” and pointed out that in order to sit together, there must be an agenda to discuss together and an outcome that can be agreed upon.

In addition, regarding the observation that the three-party talks are the so-called 'Yalta 2.0' compared to the Yalta Conference, which discussed the order before and after World War II, "Europe, India, Japan, Korea, the Middle East and the Global South all have diplomatic sovereignty and the right to action. “The international situation has already entered a multipolar era.”

Meanwhile, regarding the possibility of a North Korea-US summit during this APEC period, the Yonhap Security Council said, "President Trump wants to meet (with North Korean Chairman Kim Jong-un), but this does not mean that Chairman Kim is equally desperate."

He then pointed out that since North Korea is not a member of APEC, it is more likely that if the leaders of North Korea, China, and Russia stand together or a North Korea-US summit is held during this APEC summit, it is more likely to be a separate diplomatic activity borrowed from the APEC schedule.

One Chinese scholar said that even if China wanted to create a meeting, the leaders of North Korea and North Korea may not want to meet in China due to political considerations. Considering the U.S.-China rivalry, President Trump may prefer a relatively small neutral country as a meeting place instead of giving points to China.

“How many countries can be accommodated at the APEC negotiating table and what kind of results can be achieved will depend more on whether not only the host country but also countries with strategic nuclear capabilities can find an intersection of interests in the game,” the union official added.