Ukraine aims for Trump meeting during Zelensky’s upcoming New York visit, FM says
President Volodymyr Zelensky will lead a delegation to New York next week to attend the high-level week of the 80th United Nations General Assembly, Ukrainian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Heorhii Tykhyi said at a press briefing in Kyiv.
The annual UN gathering is expected to bring together leaders from nearly 150 countries.
Zelensky is scheduled to meet with several heads of state and government, with his visit focusing on securing continued international support for Ukraine, the humanitarian and geopolitical consequences of Russia’s ongoing invasion, as well as Russia's deportation of Ukrainian children, according to Tykhyi.
Ukraine also hopes for a high-profile meeting between Zelensky and U.S. President Donald Trump during the visit. U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said earlier on Sept. 16 that such a meeting is possible.
"We would welcome the chance to arrange a meeting between our leaders in New York. Work on meetings and contacts between the two presidents of Ukraine and the U.S. is ongoing," he added.
The last in-person meeting between Trump and Zelensky took place on Aug. 17 during a gathering of European officials at the White House, just two days after Trump met with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Alaska.
Trump has pledged to prepare direct talks between the Russian and Ukrainian presidents, though the effort collapsed when Putin invited Zelensky to Moscow and rejected other venues.
Speaking on Sept. 15, Trump remarked that "the hatred between Zelensky and Putin is unfathomable," suggesting he might need to step in to facilitate direct talks between the two leaders.
Kyiv has refused the proposal for talks in Moscow, and Putin later said an agreement over occupied territories was "impossible." Zelensky has reiterated that he would not travel to Russia for negotiations but has repeatedly voiced readiness to meet Putin on neutral ground.
Despite threatening tougher measures, Trump has so far implemented only secondary tariffs on India over its purchases of Russian oil, while rolling back some earlier sanctions on Russia.
