Donald Trump will meet Vladimir Putin and Xi Jinping in China next week

"The President has made it clear that, among other things, he will discuss the dismantling of nuclear weapons worldwide," White House spokeswoman Olivia Wales told reporters.

According to a senior US government official, talks between Trump and his colleagues from China and Russia will also cover the war in Iran. However, Trump is not expected to address the Ukraine war, the official said Friday.

"I think the president does indeed intend to talk about Iran at the trilateral meeting with Xi Jinping and Vladimir Putin," the US official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, told reporters in a conference call. However, when it comes to Kyiv and Moscow, Washington is pursuing a “completely different negotiating line.” "China is not really part of this negotiating line, so it does not seem appropriate to discuss the Ukraine issue there," said the government representative.

The meeting of Trump, Putin and Xi in China was expected. It raised fears that the heads of state could try to divide the spheres of influence among themselves.

Trump has repeatedly taken pro-Russian positions in the Ukraine war and criticized Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. China presents itself as neutral in the Ukraine war; However, Kyiv and the West accuse China of providing decisive support to Russia's war.

Merz with a message for Trump

Ahead of his planned meeting with Kremlin chief Vladimir Putin, Chancellor Friedrich Merz called on US President Donald Trump to stand with his European allies on Ukraine's side. At a meeting of EU heads of state and government in Dublin, "some fear" that the meeting between Trump and Putin in China planned for next week "could become, so to speak, a second Anchorage moment," said Merz on Friday in Dublin.

Trump welcomed Putin with a handshake at a military air base in Anchorage, Alaska, in August 2025 for talks about the Ukraine war. Trump even had a red carpet rolled out in honor of the Russian president. Critics therefore accused the US President of providing a platform for Putin, who was largely ostracized by the West because of Russia's war of aggression against Ukraine.

“I would therefore like to make our message to the USA very clear once again: No surprises, please. “Continue playing in Team Europe and in the team with Ukraine and let’s work together for real peace in Ukraine,” emphasized the Chancellor. "That's our goal, we're sticking to it."