Axios: Trump and Zelensky agree to meet in New York as U.S. president again asks Ukraine to halt strikes on Russian refineries
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said he spoke with U.S. President Donald Trump by phone on the evening of September 20.
According to Zelensky, they agreed to meet in New York. Rustem Umerov, head of Ukraine’s Foreign Intelligence Service, told Axios that the two presidents are expected to meet on September 22 — the same day Trump is due to address the U.N. General Assembly.
During the call, Zelensky thanked Trump for signing the “sanctions from hell” law targeting Russia.
A source familiar with the call told Axios that Trump repeatedly asked Zelensky to stop striking Russian oil refineries because the strikes were driving up global diesel prices.
“The word ‘diesel’ came up many times during the call,” the source said.
Trump had previously asked Volodymyr Zelensky to stop striking Russian facilities that produce diesel fuel. “There are plenty of other targets. Don’t strike diesel. This is hurting [the whole] world,” the U.S. president said. He argued that strikes on Russian oil refineries were causing diesel shortages and driving up prices.
On the evening of September 14, Trump announced that Russia and Ukraine had agreed not to strike each other’s energy infrastructure. However, Russia and Ukraine continued trading strikes just hours after the American president’s statement.
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