Ukraine and US work to arrange Zelenskyy-Trump meeting in New York

By Ahmet Taş | Wise News Press

KYIV, UKRAINE — Ukrainian and US officials are working to arrange a meeting between Presidents Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Donald Trump in New York next week, as world leaders gather for the United Nations General Assembly.

Ukrainian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Heorhii Tykhyi said on September 16 that the two teams were working both on the possibility of holding the meeting and on its substance, with the goal of making the talks as substantive as possible. No final date, time or detailed agenda has yet been announced.

Teams are working on both the meeting and its agenda

Tykhyi confirmed at a briefing that preparations between Kyiv and Washington were active.

He said officials were considering not only whether Zelenskyy and Trump could meet during the New York trip but also what the leaders would discuss if the meeting takes place.

The announcement stops short of describing the meeting as fully scheduled. Instead, the Foreign Ministry has characterized it as a meeting that both sides are currently working to arrange.

This distinction is important because the high-level week of the UN General Assembly brings dozens of national leaders to New York within a compressed diplomatic schedule, and bilateral meetings often depend on last-minute coordination.

Ukraine’s Foreign Ministry had already said on September 8 that there was a preliminary agreement for an in-person Zelenskyy-Trump meeting later in September, with the UN General Assembly in New York identified as one possible venue.

UN General Assembly brings leaders to New York next week

The UN’s official schedule shows that the 81st session’s General Debate will run from September 22 through September 26 and resume on September 28 at UN Headquarters in New York. The wider High-level Week includes additional events through September 29.

Heads of state and government traditionally use the General Assembly not only for formal speeches but also for bilateral and multilateral meetings on the sidelines.

That makes New York a practical setting for another meeting between the Ukrainian and US presidents.

The UN says this year’s General Debate will bring world leaders together to address international peace, security, development and other global challenges under the theme of restoring trust and managing transformation.

Neither the UN schedule nor the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry’s September 16 statement specifies when a Zelenskyy-Trump bilateral meeting would take place.

Zelenskyy’s US program will extend beyond Trump

Tykhyi said Zelenskyy’s visit would include a broader Ukrainian-American agenda rather than being centered solely on a presidential meeting.

According to the Foreign Ministry spokesperson, planned contacts include members of the US Congress, business circles and representatives of the Ukrainian community in the United States.

The Ukrainian president is also expected to hold what Tykhyi described as “dozens” of bilateral meetings during the New York trip.

That wider program reflects Kyiv’s effort to engage several parts of the US political and economic system at the same time, while also meeting representatives of other countries attending the General Assembly.

The precise schedules of those meetings have not yet been released publicly.

Peace process and security issues could feature in discussions

The September 16 briefing did not provide a confirmed list of topics for a possible Zelenskyy-Trump meeting.

However, when Tykhyi discussed preparations for an in-person meeting on September 8, he identified several issues that could potentially be raised.

Those included efforts to end the war, the possibility of restoring a trilateral negotiation format, additional air-defense capabilities for Ukraine, security guarantees, bilateral economic plans and a prospective drone agreement between Kyiv and Washington.

These should be understood as possible subjects previously identified by the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry, rather than a finalized agenda for the New York meeting.

Zelenskyy has also said he expects further discussions with the US side in New York as Kyiv seeks progress in diplomatic efforts. On September 10, he said Ukrainian advisers and national security officials were in regular contact with their American counterparts and that he hoped negotiations could produce initial results later in the month.

Any eventual decisions would depend on the talks themselves and have not been announced in advance.

Kyiv is planning meetings beyond Europe and North America

Ukraine’s diplomatic program at the General Assembly is expected to extend well beyond contacts with Washington.

According to the Foreign Ministry, Zelenskyy and Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha are preparing bilateral and multilateral meetings with representatives from a broad range of regions.

The Ukrainian side has said its New York outreach will involve partners not only from Europe and North America but also from Latin America, Africa, the Middle East and Asia.

The aim is to use the concentration of global leaders at the UN General Assembly for a broader diplomatic program rather than treating the trip solely as a US-focused visit.

For Ukraine, the annual gathering provides an opportunity to discuss military and political support as well as economic, humanitarian and diplomatic issues with countries that have taken different positions on Russia’s war.

The specific outcomes of those meetings will only become clear once the talks take place.

Zelenskyy and Trump have met several times before

A New York meeting would continue a series of direct contacts between the two presidents.

The White House records show that Trump and Zelenskyy met in Washington on July 28, 2026, while the Ukrainian presidential office said the discussions included Ukraine’s air-defense needs and other aspects of bilateral cooperation.

Earlier in July, the two leaders also held talks during the NATO Summit in Ankara. Official Ukrainian and US records confirm a bilateral meeting there on July 8.

The two governments have continued contacts at multiple levels since then, including negotiations involving US presidential representatives and Ukraine’s negotiating team.

Kyiv has publicly said it wants to use September and October to revive diplomatic efforts, while also maintaining its military position during negotiations.

Date and final agenda have not yet been confirmed

As of September 16, the key confirmed development is that Ukrainian and US teams are actively preparing for the possibility of a Zelenskyy-Trump meeting in New York and are discussing the substance of the talks.

A preliminary understanding on holding an in-person meeting later in September had already been acknowledged by Ukraine’s Foreign Ministry, but no exact appointment has been publicly confirmed.

The General Debate begins on September 22, providing the main window for high-level diplomatic meetings in New York.

Until Kyiv or Washington publishes the final schedule, the meeting should therefore be described as under preparation rather than formally confirmed for a specific day or time.

If it takes place, it will form part of a much wider Ukrainian diplomatic program involving US lawmakers, business representatives, the Ukrainian-American community and leaders from several regions of the world.

WiseNewsPress.com