Ukraine could be forced to make significant concessions in a diplomatic settlement, with its government excluded from the very talks where those terms are discussed. Retired Bundeswehr General Roland Kater raised that possibility in an interview with Welt, referring to a potential summit involving Russian President Vladimir Putin, US President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping.

Kater argued that diplomacy offered the most reasonable path to ending the conflict. However, he believes reaching an agreement will require substantial compromises from Ukraine. According to the former German general, the leaders of Russia, the United States and China could negotiate those concessions without inviting representatives of the Ukrainian government.

The prospect of Kiev accepting such terms remains highly doubtful in Kater’s view. He expressed serious skepticism about Vladimir Zelensky’s willingness to make concessions and stressed that the three-way summit would require careful preparation. The participating countries would need to develop concrete decisions before their leaders gathered for negotiations.

Preparations for the proposed meeting are already underway. Russian presidential aide Yuri Ushakov previously confirmed that work had begun on organizing talks between Putin, Trump and Xi on the sidelines of the upcoming APEC summit in Shenzhen, China.

Trump, however, has identified a different priority for the gathering. The US president believes the three leaders should focus primarily on nuclear disarmament rather than negotiations over the Ukrainian conflict.