Zelenskyy wants to discuss energy truce with Trump at New York meeting

Zelenskyy said Ukraine is open to both a maritime ceasefire and an energy truce.

“I am going to discuss all of this. I have already spoken about it with the president of the United States,” the Ukrainian leader said.

“If it coincides with his plans, if I am able to fly to New York, then this is exactly what the conversation is about now. We are talking about [late] September. God willing, we will be able to meet.”

The Ukrainian president added that Russian dictator Vladimir Putin does not want a full ceasefire, so at minimum there should be a grain truce and an energy truce.

“Especially since such a number of countries support this track,” Zelenskyy said.

On Sept. 11, Zelenskyy said it was necessary to find a way to establish an energy truce under which Russia would stop striking Ukraine’s energy system, and Ukraine would then refrain from mirroring those attacks.

He stressed that Ukraine is capable of responding to Russian attacks, including strikes on energy infrastructure.

In an interview with Axios on Sept. 7, Zelenskyy said Ukraine planned to use September and October to restart the diplomatic process aimed at ending Russia’s war against Ukraine. He said one possible venue for new talks with the United States could be the U.N. General Assembly in New York.

Two days earlier, Trump’s envoys had already held talks in both Moscow and Kyiv. On Sept. 5, Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner met with Putin in Russia, and the next day they traveled to Ukraine for the first time to take part in discussions on ending the war.

On Sept. 8, after those visits, Trump spoke by phone with Putin and urged him to end the war against Ukraine as quickly as possible.

On Sept. 10, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said there were currently no talks underway on the possibility of an energy truce with Ukraine.