Trump denies Xi told him that Putin would regret Ukraine war

US PRESIDENT Donald Trump denied reports that his Chinese counterpart, Xi Jinping, offered a bleak assessment of Russia’s war in Ukraine, including claiming that Vladimir Putin would regret invading his neighbour.

Xi “never said that,” Trump told reporters on Tuesday at the White House.

The Financial Times reported that Xi, during last week’s summit with Trump in Beijing, had said Putin might end up regretting invading Ukraine, citing unnamed people familiar with the US assessment of the discussions.

The outlet said the comments were made during wide-ranging talks that touched on the war in Ukraine.

Putin and Xi are set to meet in China for their own summit, with the Russian leader eager to tap Beijing’s help on a major gas pipeline project. Russia’s heavily sanctioned economy is strongly dependent on China. REUTERS