Zelensky's office denies report Trump urged him to meet Putin in Moscow
Ukrainian officials said Trump and Zelensky discussed the possibility of trilateral talks involving the United States, Ukraine, and Russia.
President Volodymyr Zelensky's office firmly rejected a claim made on September 25 that U.S. President Donald Trump had urged him to meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow. This denial came from presidential adviser Dmytro Lytvyn, who spoke to reporters in response to the report. The Ukrainian officials stated that while Trump and Zelensky did discuss the potential for trilateral talks involving the U.S., Ukraine, and Russia, Trump never suggested a meeting between Zelensky and Putin in Moscow.
According to Bloomberg, which reported on September 25 based on information from sources familiar with the discussions, Trump had encouraged Zelensky to travel to Moscow during their meeting on the sidelines of the U.N. General Assembly in New York. Zelensky reportedly rejected this suggestion and was displeased that the matter was brought up again. The White House did not comment on Bloomberg's request for clarification.
Moscow has repeatedly suggested Moscow as a venue for a potential meeting between Zelensky and Putin. Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov reiterated on September 23 that Zelensky could visit Moscow and would be provided with security assurances. Kyiv, however, has consistently called for any such meeting to take place at a neutral location.
On September 23, when a Russian journalist inquired about Zelensky's plans to visit Moscow, the Ukrainian president responded humorously by stating that he would only go there "on a missile." This comment was in reaction to Russia's repeated invitations to Moscow, not in response to the alleged Trump proposal reported two days later.
Furthermore, on September 25, Zelensky confirmed that Washington had proposed a new round of technical-level trilateral talks involving Ukraine, Russia, and the U.S., potentially in the United Arab Emirates. Zelensky told reporters that Kyiv was awaiting a date proposal from Washington. The Kremlin stated the same day that such a trilateral meeting might occur soon but did not provide additional details.
Written by urgent.news from Kyiv Independent's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
