"Wall Street Journal": Trump Seeks "New Yalta Conference" with Putin and Xi Jinping

US President Donald Trump is seeking to hold a trilateral summit with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin and Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping, which could lead to a new division of the world into spheres of influence.

This was stated in an editorial published by the "Wall Street Journal" on Tuesday, comparing the potential trilateral meeting to the conference held in Yalta in the Crimean Peninsula in February 1945 by Soviet leader Joseph Stalin, US President Franklin Roosevelt, and British Prime Minister Winston Churchill, to determine the fate of Europe and the post-World War II order.

The "Wall Street Journal" wrote: "Trump has long sought major deals with Russia and China, and that may be his motivation now as he intensifies hostility toward Ukraine and Europe and seeks a 'Yalta 2' summit with Vladimir Putin and Xi Jinping."

According to the newspaper, "The analogy to Yalta is not entirely accurate, as Stalin and Churchill were allies of the United States in 1945, while Russia and China are now adversaries, but the trio did indeed attempt to share the world, and this is the danger in what Trump says he is open to now."

The newspaper believes that the recent easing of US sanctions against Russian diesel fuel may indicate Washington's desire to reach "more ambitious" agreements with Moscow.

According to the "Wall Street Journal," such agreements could "lead to a split in NATO, weaken America's position in the Pacific, and increase Chinese pressure on Taiwan."

On Monday, Trump expressed his readiness to meet with Putin and Xi on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit scheduled in Shenzhen, China, on November 18 and 19, adding that he intends to focus on nuclear disarmament, but did not rule out discussing the Ukrainian crisis as well.

Russian President Vladimir Putin had previously confirmed his country's support for holding a trilateral meeting with the United States and China, stressing the need to first define its agenda.

Source: "Wall Street Journal"