Trump to pressure Zelenskyy into accepting energy ceasefire with Russia – The Guardian
US President Donald Trump plans to pressure his Ukrainian counterpart, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, during their face-to-face meeting in New York on September 22. He wants Kyiv to agree to an energy ceasefire with Russia.
This was reported by The Guardian, according to Censor.NET.
Trump’s intention
Trump will reportedly insist on an energy ceasefire between the two countries, as global diesel prices have surged because of the war in Iran and Russia’s war against Ukraine.
The publication notes that Ukraine stepped up its attacks on Russia’s energy sector over the weekend, carrying out its largest strike on the Moscow region. In particular, the Moscow Oil Refinery was hit and subsequently halted operations as a result of the strike, according to Reuters sources.
Trump previously said publicly that he had asked Zelenskyy to halt such attacks, citing the situation on the global fuel market. In addition, during his latest telephone conversation with Zelenskyy, Trump repeatedly called for an end to strikes on Russian oil refineries, Axios reported.
- The two leaders are expected to meet on Tuesday, September 22, on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly’s high-level week.
Background
- On September 21, US President Donald Trump said that Russia had lost control of its oil refining industry because of its war against Ukraine.
- On September 14, Trump claimed that Ukraine and Russia had allegedly agreed to mutually halt strikes on energy facilities.
- Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy later responded to Trump, saying Ukraine was prepared to refrain from striking Russian energy infrastructure if its partners guaranteed that Russia would not attack Ukraine’s energy infrastructure.
- Dmitry Peskov, spokesperson for the Russian dictator, called a possible energy ceasefire between Ukraine and Russia "a good idea."
