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Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy met with U.S. President Donald Trump in New York on Tuesday, September 22, on the sidelines of the 81st session of the UN General Assembly.
The meeting lasted about 40 minutes, according to Zelenskyy’s comments to journalists afterward. He said Ukraine was ready to agree to an energy ceasefire with Russia in any format, provided that Russia also stops attacking Ukraine.
Zelenskyy said the U.S. administration would convey Ukraine’s proposal for an energy truce to the Russian side.
He also said that Trump did not ask Ukraine during the meeting to unilaterally stop its strikes against Russia.
Zelenskyy calls for trilateral talks
Zelenskyy said the most important step Trump could take toward ending the war would be to organize a trilateral meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
“Ending the war means ending it. Through dialogue, that means sitting down and talking. Whether you laugh, cry or hate each other, the war has to end. Sit down at the table and talk,” Zelenskyy said.
He also said he expected Trump to impose what he called “hellish sanctions” under the Lindsey Graham sanctions legislation if Russia takes no steps toward de-escalation.
The meeting came after Trump and Zelenskyy agreed during a September 20 phone call to meet in New York. Zelenskyy said at the time that the talks could provide new momentum to the diplomatic process and that possible de-escalation measures and security issues would be discussed.
Energy strikes discussed
At the start of the meeting, Trump again raised the issue of Ukrainian strikes on Russian oil refineries. He said the attacks were affecting fuel prices.
Trump had repeatedly urged Zelenskyy to halt strikes on Russian refineries, according to Axios, which reported that the issue was raised several times during their September 20 phone call.
Zelenskyy, meanwhile, has said Ukraine is prepared to take reciprocal de-escalation steps if Russia stops attacking Ukrainian energy infrastructure and other critical facilities.
The possibility of a mutual moratorium on strikes against energy infrastructure has also been discussed by Trump and French President Emmanuel Macron. Macron said on September 22 that the two leaders had discussed initiatives aimed at stopping attacks on energy facilities in Ukraine and Russia.
Talks focus on de-escalation and security
Ahead of his meeting with Trump, Zelenskyy briefed a bipartisan group of U.S. senators in New York on the de-escalation proposals he planned to present. The discussions also covered Ukraine’s need for additional ballistic-missile interceptors and preparations for the coming winter.
Zelenskyy said earlier that Ukraine was preparing a new “Drone Deal” with the United States and identified accelerating peace efforts, protecting civilians, strengthening air defenses and developing security and de-escalation proposals among Kyiv’s priorities.
The planned energy truce is part of broader U.S. efforts to encourage reciprocal steps by Russia and Ukraine and revive negotiations. Reuters reported ahead of the meeting that energy infrastructure and Ukraine’s air-defense needs were expected to be central issues in the talks.
Previous Trump-Zelenskyy meetings
The two presidents last met in Washington on July 28, when they discussed the diplomatic process and the possibility of producing Patriot interceptor missiles in Ukraine.
They also met on July 8 on the sidelines of the NATO summit.
Zelenskyy’s September 22 meeting with Trump follows several rounds of discussions between Ukrainian officials and Trump’s special envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner. The Ukrainian president has said that restarting negotiations and securing long-term security guarantees remain central to the diplomatic process.
