Zelensky Holds Call With Trump During Critical Juncture for U.S.-Ukraine Relations.
Following a telephone conversation with President Donald Trump, Zelensky confirmed that he would meet the president in New York during the upcoming UN General Assembly.
“I just spoke with President Trump. An important conversation, and we got through a lot. We agreed to meet in New York, and this meeting could change a lot. There is diplomatic momentum”, Zelensky posted on X.
The meeting had not been confirmed before Sunday; two senior Ukrainian officials told Ukrainian independent media company Suspilne that, as of Saturday, no Trump-Zelensky meeting had been scheduled.
U.S.-Ukraine relations, which have often been fraught during Trump’s second term, are showing some recent signs of improvement.
The State Department approved the potential sale of U.S. “Air Defense Development Upgrades and related equipment and services” to Ukraine worth nearly $2.7 billion on Friday.
During the call with Trump, Zelensky also expressed his gratitude to his American counterpart for signing the Lindsey Graham bill, which sanctions Russia, into law.
“I thanked the American President for signing the Lindsey Graham bill into law. We all concur – there must be peace. Thank you to everyone who stands with Ukraine!” Zelensky wrote.
The bill, named after the late Republican senator and staunch Ukraine ally Lindsey Graham, sanctions Russian President Vladimir Putin, senior Russian government officials as well as the Russian “shadow fleet”, a clandestine network of ships which Russia uses to move crude oil while bypassing sanctions by G7 and EU countries.
Controversially, the bill also allows Trump to impose tariffs of up to 100% on the five nations, which purchase the most Russian oil and gas. Russia and China are two such nations.
Despite the severity of the sanctions against Russian oil, Trump reportedly urged Zelensky to halt Ukrainian strikes on Russian oil refineries, citing concerns about the rise in global diesel prices, a source familiar with the call told Axios.
On Sunday, the Moscow oil refinery was attacked by Ukrainian drones.
Trump’s requests allegedly dominated much of the phone call; the president had previously called on Zelensky to halt attacks on Russian oil infrastructure during his recent visit to Ireland, stating that the attacks were “hurting the world”.
As U.S.-mediated peace talks between Russia and Ukraine are set to resume in October, Zelensky will be hoping that the U.S. continues its recent streak of pro-Ukrainian policies in order for Ukraine to secure a better bargaining position in negotiations.
Nevertheless, Trump’s previous statements blaming Ukraine for the outbreak of war along with the U.S.’s past insistence that Ukraine cede parts of its eastern Donbas region to Russia mean that U.S. favorability towards Ukraine is not guaranteed.
