ISTANBUL, October 22. /TASS/. A potential trilateral summit between Russia, the United States and China in the Chinese city of Shenzhen could become a second Yalta conference, Italy’s former Prime Minister and ex-president of the European Commission Romano Prodi argued.

"Everybody is talking about the Shenzhen meeting next month, a meeting of great powers <...>. This could become a meeting where rules for the future will be set and red lines that must not be crossed will be laid down. I’d jokingly call it a 'little Yalta,'" Prodi said, addressing the XIX Verona Eurasian Economic Forum.

He repeatedly described excluding Europe from global geopolitical and economic processes as a mistake, arguing that the United States, Russia and China would have no interest in this for the sake of a balance further down the road. At this stage, Prodi admitted, Europe is being left out because of internal fragmentation and weaknesses. According to him, Europe and Russia have grown apart because of external pressure, while the Ukraine conflict has made the divide seemingly insurmountable for now.

Earlier, US President Donald Trump proposed holding a trilateral meeting in China with his Russian and Chinese counterparts, Vladimir Putin and Xi Jinping, respectively. Kremlin Aide Yury Ushakov told reporters on October 21 that Putin discussed the possibility of holding trilateral talks with Trump and Xi at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit, scheduled for Shenzhen on November 18-19, during a meeting with US special presidential envoy Steve Witkoff on Wednesday.