Zelenskyy plans to meet Trump during U.N. General Assembly
Ukraine is preparing for the U.N. General Assembly, with a large number of meetings scheduled, including with U.S. President Donald Trump, President Zelenskyy said.
“There will be a lot of bilateral meetings – business, technology, defense, ‘the minerals issue.’ We will be united by a major economic meeting. And, of course, a meeting with the President of the United States of America. Also, most likely, there will be a meeting between the First Ladies of Ukraine and the United States on humanitarian issues, on children,” Zelenskyy told journalists on Friday.
In addition, Ukraine is counting on holding a summit on the return of Ukrainian children abducted by Russia, with 38 delegations ready to take part. The Crimea Platform will also be part of the General Assembly, with Ukraine expecting around 30 countries to participate.
The president explained that, during his meeting with Trump, he hopes to receive signals “as to how close we are to an understanding that security guarantees from all partners will be the kind we need,” as well as regarding sanctions against Russia.
“We have prepared the groundwork for security guarantees, which Europe is ready to accept, provided that the United States will stand alongside us. We have held many discussions, including dialogue at different levels – between our military leadership and general staffs and their European and American counterparts. There was a meeting between the U.K. prime minister and the U.S. president, and it was agreed that we will discuss these matters at our bilateral meeting in New York,” the president added.
Zelenskyy noted that Trump expects decisive steps from Europe; however, in his view, “we lose a lot of time if we wait, if we don’t impose sanctions or take certain steps that we very much expect from him [Trump].”
“Of course, we support Europe imposing sanctions and tightening tariff policies against countries that buy Russian energy resources. But tying everything together delays pressure on Putin. We are ready for a meeting with Putin – I’ve said so. Whether bilateral or trilateral. He is not ready,” the head of state stressed.
