President Volodymyr Zelensky arrived on Sept. 24 in New York for his first official visit to the United States.
The Ukrainian president came to take part in the 74th United Nations General Assembly session in New York on Sept. 23-26, where he plans to meet with his U.S. counterpart Donald Trump.
But Zelensky’s visit and the first face-to-face encounter with the U.S. leader comes amid an American political scandal. During a phone call on July 25, Trump reportedly pressured Zelensky to investigate Hunter Biden, the son of former U.S. Vice President Joe Biden, Trump’s most likely competitor in the 2020 presidential election.
Read more: What US whistleblower scandal means for Ukraine
Although Zelensky has already met Trump and posted a picture of himself with Trump, Melania Trump and his wife Olena Zelenska during a formal reception on Twitter, he wrote that they would continue their official meeting later.
Apart from his meeting with Trump, Zelensky also gave a speech during the General Assembly session. The president also met with the leaders of other states.
During the first day of his visit, Zelensky met with the representatives of the Ukrainian diaspora in the U.S.
According to the official website of the president’s office, Zelensky said that he expects his meeting with Donald Trump to be “productive.”
He also stressed the importance of U.S. support for Ukraine.
On Sept. 24, Zelensky took part in the opening of the 74th General Assembly session. The president also met with the NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg and discussed the development of Ukraine and NATO relations.
Zelensky also met with Giuseppe Conte, the prime minister of Italy. According to the website of the president’s office, Zelensky and Conte discussed the importance of sanctions against Russia, sanctions that the Italian government has previously vocally opposed, as well as Italy’s investments in Ukraine.
Apart from that, Zelensky and Conte also discussed Vitaliy Markiv, a Ukrainian soldier who was sentenced by an Italian court to 24 years in prison for his alleged involvement in the 2014 death of Italian freelance photographer Andrea Rocchelli during the height of Russia’s war in the Donbas.
Zelensky suggested establishing a joint investigation to study the circumstances of Rocchelli’s death, the presidential website reads.
The president also had a meeting with the Federal Chancellor of Germany Angela Merkel, where they discussed meetings under the Normandy Four format.
Zelensky also discussed the cooperation between Kazakhstan and Ukraine with the country’s president Kassym-Jomart Tokayev.
During his meeting with Czech Republic’s Prime Minister Andrej Babis, Zelensky discussed the development of trade, economic and investment cooperation between the two countries. Zelensky also invited Babis to visit Ukraine.
Additionally, the president met with the Swedish Prime Minister Stefan Lofven. Zelensky urged Lofven to help increase Swedish investments in Ukraine’s economy.
Apart from state leaders, Zelensky also had a meeting with Dara Khosrowshahi, the chief executive officer of Uber, and discussed Uber’s work in Ukraine, as well as the increase of the company’s investments in Ukraine.
On Sept. 24, the president also gave a speech at the UN Sustainable Development Summit, where he talked about the positive outcomes of sustainable development in Ukraine, such as the growth of innovation in the Ukrainian economy, the improvement of business climate conditions, increasing the share of renewable energy and more.
Zelensky stressed the importance of two key factors that are holding Ukraine back from successful development: the “domestic political tradition,” when reforms that are important for the country’s development are resisted. But he also said that “the new Ukrainian government will definitely cope with it.”
However, the second factor, which is Russia’s war on Ukraine is much more complicated, Zelensky said.
“We will not overcome it without your support, without international support,” Zelensky said. “No state can achieve sustainable development without peace and a sense of security,” he added.
He also talked about the outcomes of the annexation of Crimea by Russia, the war in eastern Ukraine where he stressed the fact that Ukraine “has lost over 13,000 of its citizens,” before then talking about the future return of Ukrainian territories and an end to the war.
“This is our goal number one,” Zelensky said. “So that we can move forward with the UN Member States to achieve other sustainable development goals,” he said.
