China denies plans for trilateral Ukraine peace summit with US and Russia

China has denied reports of a planned trilateral summit between Chinese President Xi Jinping, United States President Donald Trump, and Russian President Vladimir Putin to address the war in Ukraine next month. Inkorr reported that Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning stated the ministry has no confirmation regarding the potential meeting. The Wall Street Journal had previously reported that Vladimir Putin proposed the summit to explore ways to halt the conflict. [1]

The diplomatic clarification comes alongside comments from United States Secretary of State Marco Rubio during a visit to Samarkand, Uzbekistan. Reuters, reporting through Al-Monitor, and France 24 English both stated that Marco Rubio urged Ukraine and Russia to focus on ending the war. France 24 English also reported that Marco Rubio denied claims that Washington had paused intelligence sharing with Kyiv. [3][7]

On the battlefield, severe military escalations continue across the region. Al Jazeera English reported that Ukraine launched more than 1,000 drones at Russia, striking the St Petersburg oil terminal and the Ruchi oil depot, which killed at least one person and injured five others. France 24 English reported that Russia carried out a massive strike on targets in Kyiv and its surrounding region. [4][7]

Diplomatic efforts and economic pressure remain central to the ongoing conflict, which began in February 2014 and escalated into a full-scale Russian invasion in February 2022. Al Jazeera English reported that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy stated communication between Washington and Kyiv is virtually nonstop, adding that the war must be brought to an end. Meanwhile, BBC Europe reported that the chief executive of Ukrainian steel firm Metinvest, Yuriy Ryzhenkov, called on the European Union to drop import tariffs that unfairly target Ukrainian steel products alongside cheap imports from China. [2][5][10]