Trump, After Closed Talks With Zelensky, Hints at Major Ukraine Deal

Closed-door talks between Donald Trump and Volodymyr Zelensky took place in New York on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly. Before the meeting, the U.S. president sought to calm public concern, saying Europe does not face the threat of war with Russia.

He also urged former British Prime Minister Keir Starmer to be far more cautious in his public language. Trump said Kyiv and Moscow are actively looking for a way out of the crisis and raised the prospect of a wide-ranging deal, the details of which he declined to disclose.

Donald Trump, President of the United States:

“Well, I think they’re going to make a deal, and I don’t want to say in advance exactly what it is. We talk about this a lot, including with President Putin. And I think something is going to happen. They’re certainly very good fighters. In fact, they can be proud of themselves. Anyway, we’ll see what happens next, but these are very, very capable people and very capable leadership.”

Zelensky, for his part, said Ukraine is prepared for an energy truce in any format and is willing to halt all strikes on Russian oil refineries if Moscow stops attacks on Ukraine’s energy infrastructure.

He also said he is ready to meet Vladimir Putin at any time and expressed hope that Trump could quickly arrange those three-way talks.