Zelensky seeks Trump meeting in New York to push for energy ceasefire with Russia
President Volodymyr Zelensky said he hopes to meet US President Donald Trump during UN General Assembly week in New York on September 21–23 to discuss a possible energy ceasefire with Russia. In an interview with the Ukrainian telethon Yedyni Novyny aired on September 14, Zelensky said Ukraine is open to halting mutual strikes on energy infrastructure and the Black Sea before winter, even if a full ceasefire proves out of reach.
Key points
- Zelensky said he hopes to meet Trump in New York during the week of September 21–23 for UN General Assembly high-level week.
- Zelensky spoke in an interview with the telethon Yedyni Novyny broadcast on September 14.
- The agenda includes stopping mutual strikes between Russia and Ukraine on the Black Sea and on energy infrastructure before winter.
- Zelensky said Ukraine is open to a maritime ceasefire combined with an energy ceasefire.
- He added that if Putin does not want a full ceasefire, at minimum a grain and energy ceasefire is needed.
- Trump's envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner visited Kyiv on September 6 after meeting Putin in Moscow on September 5, accompanied by UK, French and German security advisers.
- Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said on September 10 that talks on a possible energy ceasefire with Ukraine are not currently being held.
Why it matters
A direct Zelensky–Trump meeting on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly could move forward — or stall — efforts to halt strikes on energy infrastructure before winter, with immediate humanitarian and economic consequences for Ukraine going into the cold season. The Kremlin's stated position that no energy-ceasefire talks are currently underway points to a possible gap between Zelensky's and Putin's openness to such a deal.
What happened
Speaking to the Ukrainian telethon Yedyni Novyny in an interview aired on September 14, President Volodymyr Zelensky said he hopes to meet US President Donald Trump in New York during the week of September 21–23, when world leaders gather for the UN General Assembly high-level week. The two leaders, he said, could discuss halting mutual strikes between Russia and Ukraine on the Black Sea and on energy infrastructure before winter. Zelensky said Ukraine is open to both a maritime ceasefire and an energy ceasefire, and that even if Russian President Vladimir Putin is unwilling to agree to a full ceasefire, at minimum a grain and energy ceasefire is needed.
The push comes after Trump's special envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner met Putin in Moscow on September 5 and then visited Kyiv on September 6, accompanied by security advisers from the UK, France and Germany. Trump spoke with Putin by phone on September 8, pressing for an early end to the war. Kushner has publicly said there are new ideas for ending the war but has expressed uncertainty about whether Putin is ready for real negotiations. Head of the Office of the President Kyrylo Budanov has suggested a new round of peace talks could take place in early October, and Zelensky has previously said he is ready to meet Putin at a G20 summit in December in Miami.
How Ukrainian sources describe it
Both supplied sources are Ukrainian and center Zelensky's stated intent and readiness to pursue an energy and maritime ceasefire, framing the potential New York meeting with Trump as a concrete diplomatic opening ahead of winter.
Where reporting differs
Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said on September 10 that talks on a possible energy ceasefire with Ukraine are not currently being held. Zelensky said on September 11 that a possibility must be found for such a ceasefire and reaffirmed Ukraine's openness to it in his September 14 interview.
Background
Russia and Ukraine have been blocking each other's access to the Black Sea, prompting countries including India, Egypt and Saudi Arabia to raise concerns about market impacts. Zelensky has said he is willing to meet Putin at a December G20 summit in Miami, and Kushner, after visiting Moscow and Kyiv, has spoken of new ideas on ending the war while expressing uncertainty about Putin's readiness for real negotiations.