After meeting Trump in New York, Zelensky says he hopes war will end 'before winter'
Trump and Zelensky held roughly 40 minutes of talks in New York covering prospects for negotiations with Russia, military aid and a possible energy truce, with Zelensky expressing hope the war could end before winter.
Donald Trump and Volodymyr Zelensky met on September 22 on the sidelines of the U.N. General Assembly in New York for talks lasting about 40 minutes. The discussion touched on prospects for negotiations with Russia, military assistance to Ukraine, and a potential energy truce between Kyiv and Moscow.
Before the meeting, Trump told the U.N. that he expected the war to end soon, saying the U.S. was working closely with leaders on both sides and that a resolution would come sooner than people expect.
Afterward, Zelensky said he hoped Trump would help bring the war to an end as soon as possible, ideally before winter sets in. Similar hopes were voiced elsewhere in Europe, with Finnish President Alexander Stubb saying in an interview that a partial ceasefire is being anticipated by winter.
A shift in tone
Just two weeks earlier, meeting Trump's special envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner in Kyiv, Zelensky had suggested the war would likely continue into winter. Following the New York meeting, he indicated Washington would now try to secure an energy-truce agreement with Moscow, though he doubted Putin would agree without additional pressure, such as tougher sanctions. Zelensky said Ukraine would accept any format of truce and reiterated his readiness for a three-way meeting with Putin and Trump.
The talks also addressed a 'winter package' of military aid. Zelensky asked Trump for Patriot missiles from U.S. stockpiles, offering to later transfer to Washington part of the missiles Ukraine expects under a future agreement with Germany. Trump did not commit, but Zelensky described the fact that the idea wasn't rejected outright as a positive sign.
The Kremlin said no preconditions currently exist for peace talks, though Putin remains open to meeting Trump. Spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said a meeting with Zelensky without prior expert-level preparation would be pointless and repeated that any such meeting could only take place in Moscow. Putin said Zelensky is welcome to come to Moscow, where all necessary security guarantees would be provided.
Discussions on the energy truce are set to continue on September 23, when U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio is scheduled to meet Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov in New York.
