The Trump administration is pushing for three immediate steps in its effort to de-escalate the war in Ukraine and restart diplomacy with Russia, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky told Axios in an interview on Wednesday:

• A ceasefire on energy infrastructure.
• Reopening the Black Sea grain corridor.
• A trilateral U.S.-Russia-Ukraine meeting, possibly in Abu Dhabi.

Why it matters: President Trump is engaged in a renewed effort to revive a diplomatic track to end the war, but his immediate priority is a deal to halt Ukrainian attacks on Russian diesel fuel — which have contributed to punishing prices in the U.S. and globally.

• But after several days of diplomacy and meetings on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in New York this week, an energy ceasefire looks elusive. It's unclear if Russian President Vladimir Putin even wants it.
• Putin envoy Kirill Dmitriev will arrive in New York on Thursday for a meeting with Trump envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner to discuss the latest U.S. proposals, according to a source with direct knowledge.

Driving the news: Zelensky spoke with Trump on Tuesday in New York about efforts to end the war and a possible energy ceasefire.

• Later on Tuesday, Witkoff and Kushner met with Ukraine's negotiations team and the national security advisers of France, the UK and Germany.
• Zelensky told Axios the proposal for a mutual halt to strikes on energy infrastructure came from the U.S. and that Ukraine is ready to agree.
• "On the table now there is a proposition: energy ceasefire. We are ready," he said.
• Zelensky added that the U.S. is also seeking to reopen the grain corridor and convene a trilateral meeting between the U.S., Ukraine and Russia.

Zoom in: The last U.S.-Ukraine-Russia meeting took place in February before the war with Iran. Since then, negotiations have gone into a deep freeze.

• Zelensky said he told Trump he would prefer to hold a trilateral meeting and make an energy ceasefire one of its first concrete outcomes.
• The U.S. raised the possibility of first holding a meeting between technical teams, as opposed to a meeting at the leaders level. It floated Abu Dhabi as a possible venue, Zelensky said.
• "We are open — any country, any format," he said.
• The Ukrainian president said he told Trump during their meeting that December's G20 summit in Miami could also be an opportunity for a leader-level trilateral summit.
• Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Wednesday after meeting with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov that Trump invited Putin to attend the summit.
• Zelensky also said simply getting the three sides into the same room would itself be a significant step toward de-escalation.

Catch up quick: The current push for resuming negotiations started three weeks ago when CIA director John Ratcliffe visited Moscow.

• It was followed by Witkoff and Kushner traveling to Moscow and Kyiv.
• They met Putin for three hours in Moscow on Sept. 5 and then traveled to Kyiv to meet Zelensky.
• After they returned, Trump had a long phone call with Putin.

Behind the scenes: Zelensky said Witkoff and Kushner were very optimistic when they briefed him after meeting with Putin.

• "They said, 'We think that Putin is ready.' I said, 'Look, I'm not sure,'" Zelensky recalled.
• According to Zelensky, the U.S. envoys responded: "No, we are close."
• Zelensky said he told them he was ready to discuss an energy ceasefire and other de-escalation steps but remained skeptical Putin would follow through.

Yes, but: Zelensky said he continues to doubt Putin's intentions and believes the Russian leader could find reasons to avoid a trilateral meeting with leaders present.

• On Wednesday, the Kremlin said the conditions aren't ready for resuming peace talks with Ukraine and that there is no prospect at the moment for high-level meetings between the parties.
• Minutes before Zelensky spoke to Axios, Russia launched multiple ballistic missiles toward Kyiv. Zelensky received several updates on his phone about the additional missile attacks throughout the interview.

What they're saying: Zelensky said Trump was "very positive" about the diplomatic push during their meeting Tuesday.

• Trump told him, "We will try," Zelensky said.
• "I said, 'Great, and really wish you not only to try [but] to succeed,'" Zelensky recalled.
• Zelensky stressed that Kyiv wants progress before winter sets in, regardless of the U.S. political calendar.

Between the lines: The U.S. has its own economic interest in an energy ceasefire.

• Zelensky said American officials told him that reducing attacks on energy infrastructure was important because of the impact on energy prices.

State of play: Zelensky said he spoke Tuesday with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and officials from India, the UAE and Egypt about the ceasefire effort and reopening the grain corridor.

• Those countries are also talking to Russia, he said.
• "Everybody wants [a] ceasefire. The corridor has to work again. We support [it]. They speak with Russians, I know. We will see," Zelensky said.

What's next: Zelensky said Witkoff, Kushner and his team held follow-up talks after his meeting with Trump and agreed to continue working on the proposals and convey messages to Moscow.

• Ukrainian officials said some elements still need to be developed over the next two weeks before the Americans take them back to the Russians.
• Zelensky said he expects Trump to focus first on trying to secure the energy ceasefire.

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