Trump and Zelenskyy may meet in New York next week, Rubio says

Donald Trump and Volodymyr Zelenskyy may meet in New York during the UN General Assembly high-level week which starts on 22 September, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on Tuesday.

Rubio said the US president is “trying to do everything possible to bring the war to an end," as Russia's all-out war against Ukraine continues, now well into its fourth year.

"The president had multiple calls with (Russian President Vladimir) Putin, multiple meetings with Zelenskyy, including probably next week again in New York."

Trump and Zelenskyy last met in Washington on 18 August, in the presence of European leaders.

Following the negotiations, the US president said the next stage of the White House-initiated diplomatic effort should be direct talks between Zelenskyy and Putin in either a bilateral format or together with Donald Trump.

But the Kremlin has not shown any willingness to meet with Ukraine’s president and instead invited Zelenskyy to Moscow while rejecting other venues.

Kyiv refused the proposal for talks in Moscow, and Putin later said an agreement over the Russia-occupied territories of Ukraine was "impossible".

When asked if the meeting between the presidents of Ukraine and Russia is still on the table, Trump said on Sunday that the direct talks are “unlikely”.

"The hatred between Zelenskyy and Putin is unfathomable," Trump said. "I think I'm going to have to do all the talking... they hate each other so much, they almost can't talk."

Zelenskyy has repeatedly expressed his readiness to meet Putin. Kyiv said a few countries have been considered as a possible option, including Austria, the Vatican, Switzerland, Turkey and three Gulf states.

The International Criminal Court (ICC) arrest warrant for Putin for the alleged abduction of Ukrainian children limits the choice of location, as he risks arrest in any of the court's 125 member states if he sets foot into their territory.

Some of them, including Switzerland and Austria, are ready to make an exception and have promised not to arrest Putin if he comes for a meeting which could put an end to the war against Ukraine.