Putin Wants a New 'Yalta' — a Division of the World into Spheres of Influence Between Moscow, Washington, and Beijing. Over the Heads of Europe and Ukraine

During a telephone conversation with Donald Trump on October 9, Vladimir Putin again discussed the possibility of a trilateral meeting with Xi Jinping at the APEC summit on November 18-19, The Wall Street Journal reported. According to the newspaper's source, Putin is counting on a "new Yalta" — negotiations on the division of spheres of influence by analogy with the 1945 conference.

As a former Russian intelligence officer familiar with the initiative told WSJ, the Russian president places ambitious, though unrealistic, hopes on the trilateral format:

he would like to turn the meeting into a second Yalta Conference, at which the great powers would divide the world into spheres of influence.

Moscow proposed holding talks on the sidelines of the APEC summit on November 18-19 in Shenzhen, China. The proposal was conveyed to Beijing through diplomatic channels. China has indicated that it does not object if Trump agrees, WSJ sources claim.

Trump has not yet agreed but may support the idea for the sake of promising to end the war, a senior American official said. The format excludes the participation of Ukraine and its European allies.

The possibility of talks was also confirmed by U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio. "There were discussions about a meeting. I don't know if it's been finally agreed upon, but the president has made it clear that he wants an end to the war between Russia and Ukraine," he told Reuters on Monday. Peskov told WSJ that there is currently no clarity regarding either the meeting or the agenda, "although all three sides acknowledge the hypothetical possibility of such a meeting."

In December 2021, Russia submitted draft agreements on "security guarantees" to the U.S. and NATO. Moscow demanded a legal ban on the expansion of the alliance, including at the expense of Ukraine and other former Soviet republics, to stop NATO military activities in Ukraine, Eastern Europe, Transcaucasia, and Central Asia, and to return the deployment of alliance troops in Europe to the 1997 configuration.

NATO refused to close the door to new members, proposing to discuss arms control and risk reduction. Putin stated that Russia's demands were ignored. Announcing the invasion on February 24, 2022, he said that Moscow had tried for 30 years to negotiate with the West but was met with "lies" and "blackmail."

In June 2024, at a meeting with the leadership of the Russian Foreign Ministry, Putin proposed creating a new security system in Eurasia and gradually winding down the military presence of "external states" there. In May 2025, Putin again demanded written guarantees against NATO expansion — including to Georgia, Moldova, and other former Soviet republics.

In September 2026, Putin stated that European security issues were resolved based on the outcomes of World War II, and changes after the collapse of the USSR occurred with Russia's consent. Everything that contradicts these agreements contradicts Moscow's interests, he said.

This time, the idea of a new Yalta is being voiced amidst a revision of relations between Washington and Moscow. In recent weeks, the U.S. has:

• allowed trade in Russian diesel fuel after Trump's conversation with Putin on October 9 — despite a lack of progress in peace talks;
• suspended the introduction of new sanctions, stipulated by the law passed in September;
• demanded Kyiv stop strikes on Russian oil refineries;
• discussed deals involving Lukoil's foreign assets and the participation of a U.S. investor in Nord Stream projects, as well as the possible unfreezing of Russian assets;
• American negotiators are also discussing the resumption of European purchases of Russian energy resources.

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