Trump’s Message to Putin: ‘Settle the War’

Speaking at the 81st United Nations General Assembly (UNGA), US President Donald Trump urged Russian President Vladimir Putin to end the war against Ukraine and said he was prepared to use newly granted legislative powers to impose tariffs of up to 100% on Russian energy buyers. Trump made the remarks on the first day of the high-level general debate on Tuesday, Sept. 22. The annual assembly opened on Sept. 8, and is scheduled to run through Sept. 26 before concluding on Monday, Sept. 28.JOIN US ON TELEGRAMFollow our coverage of the war on the @Kyivpost_official. Ahead of his UN address, when a reporter asked what message he had for Putin, he simply said: “Settle the war.” His comments came ahead of a scheduled meeting with President Volodymyr Zelensky, who previously expressed hope for using the venue to meet with Trump to restore the diplomatic momentum gained by the visits from senior US envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner to both Kyiv and Moscow earlier in September. “Last week, in honor of Senator Lindsey Graham, I signed a powerful new law passed by Congress, providing me with enormous new tariff authorities,” Trump said. “And, if necessary, I will have to use them. It’s time to stop the killing,” he continued. Diplomacy resumes in New York Trump spoke early on the first day, following Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, in keeping with the tradition under which Brazil opens the debate and the United States – being the host country – speaks next. Other Topics of Interest 275,000 Missing in Russia-Ukraine War, Red Cross Says The International Committee of the Red Cross does not disclose how many of the missing are Ukrainian or Russian. French President Emmanuel Macron, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and British Prime Minister Andy Burnham were among the other leaders scheduled to address the assembly during its opening day During his UN address, Trump expressed confidence that Washington could help broker an end to the war, although he did not announce a ceasefire or any negotiating framework between Ukraine and Moscow. “We’re working very closely with the leaders of Russia and Ukraine, and we will get that one done,” Trump said, according to Clash Reports. “It’s going to happen, I think, more quickly than people understand. They’ve had it,” he continued. The president presented his approach as one of direct intervention rather than prolonged diplomacy. “I have no interest in leaving dangers to grow for another day. I do not believe in letting problems fester. They only become harder to solve,” Trump said. However, no further details about Washington’s resolution to bridge the fundamental differences between Kyiv and Moscow had been offered. On Monday, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said that there had been no progress in negotiations, although Moscow hoped trilateral talks would eventually resume. In July, Bloomberg reported that the Kremlin no longer planned to return any occupied Ukrainian territory as part of a future peace deal. Instead, Putin reportedly intended to keep occupied areas of the Sumy and Kharkiv regions as permanent buffer zones, while continuing his push to seize all of the Donetsk region. Kyiv categorically rejects any settlement requiring it to surrender territory and maintains that a peace agreement must respect Ukraine’s internationally recognized borders and sovereignty. Renewed US mediation earlier in September Trump’s most recent speech follows a renewed US mediation earlier in September. Special US envoys Witkoff and Kushner met Putin in Moscow on Sept. 5 during talks lasting more than three hours, then traveled to Kyiv on Sept. 6 for their first visit to the Ukrainian capital as Washington’s intermediaries. Prospects for a direct Trump-Zelensky meeting in New York initially appeared uncertain. As of Sept. 19, Zelensky was absent from the list of bilateral meetings publicly outlined by US Ambassador to the UN Mike Waltz, while two senior Ukrainian officials told Suspilne that no meeting had been finalized. The situation changed following a Sunday, Sept. 20 telephone discussion between the two leaders, who agreed to meet with ideas for “ideas for de-escalation steps.” By Tuesday, the bilateral talks had been added to Trump’s schedule, with Reuters reporting that Zelensky was among at least 11 leaders the US president planned to meet during UNGA. The discussions are expected to center on air defense – particularly US-made Patriot interceptors, the only weapons Ukraine relies on to successfully deter Russian ballistic missiles – as well as energy and security. Kyiv is urgently seeking additional protection ahead of its fifth winter of war, as the country prepares for intensified Russian attacks against critical infrastructure, such as heating, power and water supplies. Kyiv Post is Ukraine’s first and oldest English news organization, reporting since 1995. Its international reach – 97% of readers are outside of Ukraine – make it truly Ukraine’s global voice.