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Ukraine and US working on Zelenskyy–Trump meeting at UN General Assembly

Ukrainian and US teams are preparing a meeting between Presidents Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Donald Trump on the sidelines of the 81st UN General Assembly in New York, Foreign Ministry spokesperson Heorhiy Tykhyi said at a briefing on September 16. Tykhyi said the teams are working to make the meeting as substantive as possible, with topics including ways to end the war and the possible revival of a three-party negotiation format. Zelenskyy, in his evening address the same day, said Ukraine is preparing meetings covering peace negotiations, energy, food security, and weapons.

Key points

  • Ukrainian MFA spokesperson Heorhiy Tykhyi said on 16 September that Ukrainian and US teams are working on arranging a Zelenskyy–Trump meeting.
  • The meeting is being planned on the sidelines of the 81st UN General Assembly in New York, which began on 8 September.
  • Tykhyi said the teams are working to make the possible meeting "as substantive as possible."
  • Possible topics include ending the war and reviving a three-party negotiation format involving the two leaders.
  • Zelenskyy said in his 16 September evening address that Ukraine is preparing meetings with US partners covering peace negotiations, energy, food security, and weapons.
  • The Ukrainian delegation plans to hold dozens of other bilateral meetings in New York and to sign six bilateral documents.
  • On 8 September, the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry confirmed a preliminary agreement on the Zelenskyy–Trump meeting.

Why it matters

A face-to-face meeting between the Ukrainian and US presidents on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly would be the highest-profile bilateral contact between Kyiv and Washington during this diplomatic season. The announced agenda ties the meeting to broader objectives: ending the war, possibly restoring a three-party negotiation format, and securing support on energy, food security, weapons and air defense. Ukraine's wider programme in New York — dozens of additional bilateral meetings and six documents to be signed — signals that the trip is being treated as a concentrated push to advance the diplomatic process during September and October.

What happened

At a briefing on 16 September, Ukrainian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Heorhiy Tykhyi said Ukrainian and US teams are working on arranging a meeting between Presidents Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Donald Trump on the sidelines of the 81st UN General Assembly in New York. Tykhyi said both sides are working to make the meeting "as substantive as possible," and that the Ukrainian president will have dozens of other bilateral meetings during the General Assembly, including with US Congress members, business circles and the Ukrainian community in the United States. Possible topics for the meeting include finding ways to end the war and the possible restoration of a three-party negotiation format with the leaders' participation. In his evening address the same day, Zelenskyy said Ukraine is preparing meetings with US partners covering peace negotiations, energy, food security and weapons, and that new support packages — including air defense systems — will be announced. The Ukrainian delegation plans to sign six bilateral documents during the New York events. The 81st UN General Assembly opened on 8 September, with its high-level general debate scheduled for 22–28 September.

How Ukrainian sources describe it

Ukrainian outlets led with the Foreign Ministry spokesperson's confirmation that a Zelenskyy–Trump meeting is being prepared, pairing it with the broader slate of dozens of bilateral meetings and the detail that Ukraine plans to sign six bilateral documents in New York. Ukrainian-language coverage also highlighted Zelenskyy's own framing that the September–October window will be used to revive the diplomatic process on ending the war, and that energy, food security, weapons and air defense would be raised with US partners.

How international sources describe it

The international (English-language agency) reporting stuck more closely to the MFA spokesperson's statement and the UN General Assembly framework, without elaborating on the planned bilateral documents, Zelenskyy's wider agenda, or the anticipated new support packages. International framing treated the working-out of the meeting as the news, rather than the broader Ukrainian diplomatic push described by Ukrainian outlets.

Where reporting differs

Sources differ on the stated main theme of the 81st UN General Assembly: one gives it as "Restoring trust, managing transformations: the United Nations working for all," another as "Restoring trust and reimagining solidarity: the UN at 80," and a third as "Restoring trust and reimagining the UN: working for the benefit of all."

Background

On 8 September, the Ukrainian Ministry of Foreign Affairs confirmed a preliminary agreement on a Zelenskyy–Trump meeting. Earlier in September, Zelenskyy said Ukraine intends to use September and October to revive the diplomatic process on ending the war. The 81st UN General Assembly began on 8 September; its high-level general debate is scheduled to run from 22 to 28 September.