Zelensky's office denies report Trump urged him to meet Putin in Moscow
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President Volodymyr Zelensky’s office on Sept. 25 denied a report that U.S. President Donald Trump had urged him to travel to Moscow for talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
"This is false information," presidential adviser Dmytro Lytvyn told reporters in response to the report. Ukrainian officials said Trump and Zelensky discussed the possibility of trilateral talks involving the United States, Ukraine, and Russia, but that Trump did not propose a meeting between Zelensky and Putin in Moscow.
Bloomberg had reported earlier on Sept. 25, citing people familiar with the discussions, that Trump encouraged Zelensky to travel to the Russian capital during their meeting on the sidelines of the U.N. General Assembly in New York. According to the report, Zelensky rejected the suggestion and was upset that the issue had been raised again. The White House did not respond to Bloomberg’s request for comment.
Moscow has repeatedly proposed the Russian capital as a venue for a possible meeting between Zelensky and Putin. Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov reiterated on Sept. 23 that Zelensky could travel to Moscow and would be provided security guarantees. Kyiv has instead called for any leaders’ meeting to take place at a neutral venue.
Asked by a Russian journalist in New York on Sept. 23 when he planned to visit Moscow, Zelensky replied that he would go there only “on a missile.” His remark was made in response to Russia’s repeated invitations to Moscow, rather than to the alleged Trump proposal reported two days later.
Separately, Zelensky said on Sept. 25 that Washington had proposed a new round of technical-level trilateral talks involving Ukraine, Russia, and the United States, potentially in the United Arab Emirates.
“The American side has proposed ... meeting at a technical level in a three-way format,” Zelensky told reporters, adding that Kyiv was waiting for Washington to propose a date.
The Kremlin said the same day that such a trilateral meeting could take place soon but provided no further details.
