The meeting follows a phone call where US President Donald Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy they discussed potential steps towards peace
Photo : AP
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on Sunday that he will meet US President Donald Trump in New York this week as Washington pushes for renewed efforts to de-escalate the war with Russia. The meeting is expected to take place on Tuesday on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly, following a phone call between the two leaders on Sunday.
Zelenskyy said the conversation had been significant and suggested the meeting could help advance diplomatic efforts. “An important conversation, and we got through a lot. We agreed to meet in New York, and this meeting could change a lot. There is diplomatic momentum,” he wrote on X.
He added that Ukraine was prepared “to take really serious steps” towards a de-escalation agreement with Russia.
US Pushes for Renewed Talks
The meeting comes as the White House works to broker an agreement under which Russia and Ukraine would take reciprocal steps to reduce tensions and return to negotiations.
However, fighting has intensified in recent days, with both countries carrying out long-range attacks.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy post on the call with Donald Trump.
Zelenskyy’s chief negotiator and head of Ukraine’s Foreign Intelligence Service, Rustem Umerov, told Axios that he had been working with White House envoys to arrange the meeting.
It will also come days after Trump signed a Russia sanctions bill and approved the largest US arms deal with Ukraine since he took office, two measures Kyiv had been seeking for months.
Trump Raised Ukraine’s Attacks on Russian Oil
A source familiar with Sunday’s call told Axios that Trump repeatedly asked Zelenskyy to stop Ukrainian attacks on Russian oil refineries.
The strikes have contributed to rising global diesel prices, the source said. “The word diesel came up many times during the call,” the source said.
Ukraine has increasingly used long-range weapons against targets inside Russia as the conflict continues.
On Sunday, Ukrainian forces launched a missile attack on Moscow and struck an oil refinery. Russia, meanwhile, has been carrying out near-daily missile attacks against Kyiv and other major Ukrainian cities in recent weeks.
Ukraine Denies Tensions with Witkoff
The meeting follows reports of growing frustration in Kyiv with US envoy Steve Witkoff. The Kyiv Independent reported earlier this week that the Ukrainian government was increasingly frustrated with Witkoff. The report came days after Witkoff and Trump adviser and son-in-law Jared Kushner visited Kyiv for the first time since the war began.
Umerov rejected the report. “I believe that the work of American negotiators should be assessed by people who are directly involved in the negotiation process and work closely with Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner,” he said.
He said he had worked with the two men daily over the past year. “Our main focus is on finding solutions for ending the war and gaining security guarantees and prosperity to Ukrainian people,” he said.
Umerov acknowledged that the negotiations were under close public and media scrutiny and that “it comes with criticism.” “Nevertheless, we need to stay focused. Steve has done a great job with us. We do not waste time and stay focused on finding solutions,” he said.
