Zelensky, Lavrov set for separate Trump, Rubio talks in New York
A week of high-stakes diplomacy opened at United Nations headquarters in New York on Monday as the 81st session of the U.N. General Assembly convened, with the conflicts in Ukraine and the Middle East and the U.S.-China relationship competing for the attention of world leaders. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, who is to step down Dec. 31 at the close of his second five-year term, has identified a Ukraine cease-fire, de-escalation of the broader Middle East, restoration of safe shipping through the Bab-el-Mandab Strait to and from the Red Sea and progress on a Hormuz Strait fertilizer deal as priorities for face-time with leaders in New York.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said he plans to meet U.S. President Donald Trump during the New York week, and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov told Russian state media he will sit down with Secretary of State Marco Rubio. U.S. officials told CNN that Trump is also expected to hold separate talks with leaders from Gulf nations on what happens next in the Iran conflict. A source told the network of a planned “high-level” briefing on Trump’s Board of Peace for Gaza, while other sources said France was expected to host a meeting on a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, in the wake of the move at last year’s General Assembly by Paris and several other Western capitals to recognize Palestine.
The official proceedings begin Tuesday with Guterres’ opening speech, followed by Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva and Trump, with Zelensky scheduled for Thursday. Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian is to speak Wednesday, though it remained uncertain whether the Iranian delegation would have any contact with White House officials during the visit.
The Iranian delegation — including Pezeshkian, Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi and other top officials — was granted entry to the United States despite the war. The State Department said the Iranian delegation did not receive the number of visas it sought and that diplomatic security officers will enforce restrictions on movement and purchases while the delegation is in the country.
Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas is to address the assembly Thursday morning by video link from the West Bank, a format mandated by the General Assembly after the Trump administration rejected his visa application. Israeli President Benjamin Netanyahu is to follow that afternoon; UPI reported that Netanyahu was expected to defy planned protests outside and mount a defense of his actions in Iran and Gaza.
Several heads of state — including the leaders of Germany, India and South Africa — were not traveling to New York and were dispatching senior officials in their place amid fears the proceedings could be overshadowed by a U.S.-China summit 225 miles down the road in Washington. Chinese President Xi Jinping is to fly into New York on Wednesday, meet Trump in Washington on Thursday and return to China on Friday, delegating his General Assembly speaking slot to one of his senior officials.
A cease-fire in Ukraine is among the priorities Guterres has said he will press for during his time with leaders in New York. He has also identified de-escalation of the conflict in the Middle East, restoration of safe shipping through the Bab-el-Mandab Strait to and from the Red Sea and progress on a Hormuz Strait deal that would allow fertilizer shipments to exit the Persian Gulf via the critical waterway as priorities for the week.
UPI identified three other items topping the Assembly’s agenda: restoring trust in the multilateral body, a pending change at its helm and concerns over artificial intelligence. The gathering coincides with the final stretch of the secretary-general’s tenure and a pending change at the UN’s helm.