Key facts
- Ukraine's presidential office denied a report that U.S. President Donald Trump urged President Volodymyr Zelensky to travel to Moscow for talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
- Presidential adviser Dmytro Lytvyn called the report "false information."
- Ukrainian officials confirmed that Trump and Zelensky discussed the possibility of trilateral talks involving the United States, Ukraine, and Russia.
- Bloomberg reported that Trump encouraged Zelensky to travel to Moscow during their meeting on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly.
- Zelensky had previously stated he would only go to Moscow "on a missile."
- The U.S. has committed nearly all of its $400 million in approved military aid to Ukraine before a September 30 deadline.
Ukraine's presidential office on September 25 denied a report that U.S. President Donald Trump had urged President Volodymyr Zelensky to travel to Moscow for talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin. Presidential adviser Dmytro Lytvyn told reporters that the information was "false information."
Ukrainian officials confirmed that Trump and Zelensky discussed the possibility of trilateral talks involving the United States, Ukraine, and Russia, but that Trump did not propose a meeting between Zelensky and Putin in Moscow. Bloomberg had reported earlier on September 25, citing people familiar with the discussions, that Trump encouraged Zelensky to travel to the Russian capital during their meeting on the sidelines of the U.N. General Assembly in New York. According to the report, Zelensky rejected the suggestion and was upset that the issue had been raised again. The White House did not respond to Bloomberg’s request for comment.
Moscow has repeatedly proposed the Russian capital as a venue for a possible meeting between Zelensky and Putin. Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov reiterated on September 23 that Zelensky could travel to Moscow and would be provided security guarantees. Kyiv has instead called for any leaders’ meeting to take place at a neutral venue.
Asked by a Russian journalist in New York on September 23 when he planned to visit Moscow, Zelensky replied that he would go there only “on a missile.” His remark was made in response to Russia’s repeated invitations to Moscow, rather than to the alleged Trump proposal reported two days later.