Trump Suggests Xi Jinping Could Significantly Influence Putin on Ukraine Peace Efforts

Donald Trump expressed on Wednesday that Xi Jinping could exert "big influence" on Vladimir Putin regarding efforts to end the conflict in Ukraine.

President Donald Trump stated on Wednesday that Chinese leader Xi Jinping might have significant influence over Russia's Vladimir Putin concerning efforts to conclude the Ukraine war, just days before a scheduled meeting between the US and Chinese leaders in South Korea.

"I think he can have a big influence on Putin... Look, he's a respected man. He's a very strong leader, very big country. Yeah, I think it can have a big influence. And we will certainly be talking about Russia, Ukraine," Trump told reporters at the White House.

Trump has relied on personal rapport with Putin to achieve a peace agreement for Ukraine, but has repeatedly encountered frustration in his dealings with the Russian leader.

The US president voiced his irritation with Putin on Wednesday, telling journalists: "Every time I speak with Vladimir, I have good conversations, and then they don't go anywhere."

Trump had planned to meet Putin in Hungary within weeks, but canceled the summit on Tuesday, stating he did not want to have a "wasted meeting."

The US leader is working to end Moscow's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, which has continued for more than three-and-a-half years, through discussions with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and Russia's Putin.

Despite breaking with years of Western policy by engaging with the Russian leader rather than isolating him, Trump has achieved little concrete progress toward a peace agreement thus far.