Trump to have trilateral meeting with Modi and Abe in Argentina

Mr. Trump will meet leaders of Argentina, China, Germany, Japan, Russia at G20

U.S. President Donald Trump.

U.S. President Donald Trump will have a trilateral meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on the sidelines of the G20 summit in Buenos Aires on November 30 and December 1, the White House said on Tuesday.

The trilateral, which would be an expansion of the bilateral between Mr. Trump and Mr. Abe, is part of the series of meetings Mr. Trump would have later this week on the sidelines of the G20 Summit in Argentina. The annual meeting is being attended by leaders of the top 20 economies of the world.

Briefing reporters ahead of the G20 Summit, U.S. National Security Adviser John Bolton said that Mr. Trump will also have meetings with President Mauricio Macri of Argentina, President Moon Jae-in of South Korea, and President Recep Tayyip Erdogan of Turkey.

Mr. Bolton said the Trump-Abe bilateral meeting would expand into a trilateral meeting with Prime Minister Modi. No other details were immediately available.

However, all eyes are expected to be on two meetings that Mr. Trump would have with the Chinese President Xi Jinping and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin.

Mr. Trump will be holding over half a dozen bilateral meetings on the sidelines of this week’s Group of 20 summit in Argentina, the White House said.

“While at the G20 the President and delegation will interact with many leaders, including bilateral meetings with the President of Argentina, the President of Russia, Prime Minister of Japan and the Chancellor of Germany, and a working dinner with the President of China,” Press Secretary Sarah Sanders told a White House briefing.

Asked whether Mr. Trump planned to meet Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman — who the CIA reportedly believes authorised the killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi — Ms. Sanders said an informal meeting remained a possibility.

“I wouldn’t say we’ve ruled out any interaction,” she said, although she stressed that “the President’s schedule is pretty packed” and that no formal bilateral was planned.

Mr. Trump has doubled down on his partnership with Saudi Arabia, calling it an indispensable ally, despite the Central Intelligence Agency’s reported conclusion that Prince Mohammed authorised the killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi.