Putin open to summit with Trump and Xi on Ukraine, silent on Zelensky's role

Russian President Vladimir Putin expressed willingness to hold a trilateral summit with U.S. President Donald Trump and Chinese leader Xi Jinping in November during the APEC meeting in China to discuss the war in Ukraine. He made the statement Wednesday in St. Petersburg during a meeting with White House envoy Steve Witkoff. Putin was responding to a U.S. proposal that included Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky's participation, though the Russian leader did not address that possibility. At the meeting's start, Putin also announced the release of Stephen James Hubbard, a 74-year-old American English teacher captured while serving in the Ukrainian military. The two sides also agreed that the first tanker carrying 40,000 tons of diesel will depart Thursday for the United States under an October 9 deal between Putin and Trump, according to Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak. The supply agreement's signing is in its final stage.