President Zelensky discussed an energy truce with President Trump — Asharq Al-Awsat
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky held a 40-minute meeting with U.S. President Donald Trump at UN headquarters in New York, United States, on September 22. The sides discussed ending Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine, including a possible bilateral halt to strikes on energy facilities.
As Asharq Al-Awsat reports, Zelensky said after the talks that Kyiv is ready for any format of an energy truce with Moscow. At the same time, he said that Ukraine’s unilateral refusal to strike Russian oil refineries was not discussed.
Possible trilateral meeting
The Ukrainian president also reiterated that he is ready to meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin in a trilateral format involving Trump. He expressed hope that the United States would be able to bring Moscow back to negotiations after talks earlier this year collapsed.
Zelensky said that readiness for a trilateral meeting means his consent to end the war. At the same time, he noted that he sees no signs of Putin’s readiness for negotiations.
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Before the meeting, Trump told reporters that he planned to discuss with Zelensky Ukrainian strikes on Russian oil refining facilities and options for ending the war. Last week, the U.S. president said that Ukraine and Russia had agreed not to strike energy targets. The following day, according to the publication, Russia attacked gas stations in Kyiv, while Ukraine struck a Russian oil refinery.
Request for Patriot missiles
Zelensky said that he discussed preparations for winter with Trump and requested a package of missiles for Patriot air defense systems. According to him, this is the only means in Ukraine’s arsenal capable of shooting down Russian ballistic missiles.
The Ukrainian president said that Kyiv proposed receiving Patriot missiles from U.S. stockpiles this winter and, in the future, transferring to the United States interceptors that Ukraine is to receive under an agreement with Germany. According to the publication, Germany agreed to provide Ukraine with 600 Patriot missiles in 2027 and 2028. Zelensky noted that Trump did not reject the idea, but no final decision has yet been made.
He also said that Ukraine continues negotiations on the licensed production of Patriot systems, and a representative of the Ukrainian team held a positive meeting with Raytheon, the American manufacturer of the systems.
