Television networks broadcast outside the United Nations before the start of the 79th Session of the UN General Assembly, Tuesday, Sept. 24, 2024, at the UN headquarters. / Photo: AP
Some of Donald Trump's key advisers have met foreign officials on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly where US allies are seeking to grasp what a Trump win in the Nov. 5 election would mean for US foreign policy.
Trump's foreign policy advisers have said they are careful not to promote specific policies in private chats, nor enter into any talks that could be seen as undercutting the administration of US President Joe Biden.
A firm founded by Robert O'Brien, who served as Trump's national security adviser, hosted a reception for high-ranking foreign diplomats on Monday night in Midtown Manhattan, according to a person who knew the event.
Mike Pompeo, who served as CIA director and secretary of state under Trump, was expected to host a separate reception, according to two people who were familiar with the event and requested anonymity to discuss a private gathering. Among those expected to attend will be former Trump administration ambassadors, one person said.
Focus on the trail ahead
The campaign, in response to a request for comment, did not address the meetings between foreign officials and Trump's advisers. A representative for Pompeo did not respond to a request for comment.
Opinion polls show Vice President Kamala Harris, the Democratic candidate, in a tight race with Trump in the battleground states likely to determine the winner, although a new Reuters/Ipsos survey shows Harris opening up a 7 percentage point lead nationwide.
One former Trump national security adviser, who requested anonymity to discuss private conversations, said he was fielding up to six meeting requests a day from foreign officials, many of them from central and eastern Europe.
Trump has made himself relatively scarce to foreign leaders in recent weeks. Some advisers have urged him to decline some meetings to focus on campaigning and to avoid any unnecessary negative headlines in the final days of the race, according to two people familiar with those conversations.
Turkish President Erdogan in address to the UN:
— TRT World (@trtworld) September 24, 2024
- Don’t you think the people of Palestine are human beings?
- Don’t you think Palestinian children also have the right to go schools?
Don't you think it's time we said stop to this barbarism and genocide? pic.twitter.com/OPaIniRdrs
Some dignitaries left waiting
While Trump said on the campaign trail last week that he planned to meet Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and that he would "probably" meet Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy this week, such meetings had yet to happen.
On Monday evening, Trump said at a rally in Pennsylvania that Zelenskyy wanted the Democrats to win the upcoming election.
Washington and its allies have provided a multi-billion-dollar assistance programme to Ukraine since the Russian invasion began in February 2022, while also imposing several rounds of sanctions on Moscow.
Trump has consistently described US aid to Ukraine as a waste of money and has declined to say he wants Ukraine to win.
In a statement, Trump's campaign referred Reuters to a past statement by Trump, in which he said he was "the only one who can get the war (in Ukraine) stopped."
Copyright © 2024 TRT World.