By Gram Slattery and Humeyra Pamuk
UNITED NATIONS, Sept 22 (Reuters) – Donald Trump is set for a whirlwind schedule of meetings with leaders from four continents at the UN General Assembly on Tuesday, against the backdrop of an unstable Middle East and a four-and-a-half-year-old war in Ukraine that shows no signs of abating despite the US president’s repeated attempts at mediation.
Trump is expected to start the day with a speech to assembled delegates, before meeting with no fewer than 11 world leaders, bilaterally or in group settings. While the contents of his speech are unknown, Trump last year caused a stir with a combative speech, saying that their countries were “going to hell” for, among other things, climate policy and mass migration.
Later in the day, Trump will meet with British Prime Minister Andy Burnham, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy, Venezuela’s interim leader Delcy Rodriguez, Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen, Greenland Prime Minister Jens-Frederik Nielsen, and the representatives of the Gulf states of the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Oman, Bahrain, Kuwait and Qatar.
In the evening, he may meet dozens more leaders, albeit briefly, during a leaders’ reception. Trump met with French President Emmanuel Macron on Monday. Additions to his Tuesday schedule are possible.
The long list of foreign leader meetings reflects the US president’s focus on foreign affairs during his second term, during which he has started multiple wars, questioned longstanding alliances, threatened allies with invasion and sought to broker well over a dozen conflicts, with mixed success.
The US-Israeli war against Iran has been particularly consequential, driving up fuel prices globally, dragging down Trump’s approval ratings and presenting a challenge for Republicans running in the November congressional midterm election. On Monday, a Reuters/Ipsos poll showed Trump’s approval rating falling to an all-time low of 32%, as his fellow Republicans soured on his handling of the cost of living.
Among the closely watched meetings will be the seven-way gathering with the Gulf leaders, many of whom are alarmed by the recent advances of the Houthis, Iran-backed militants who have captured wide swathes of Yemen, attacked US ally Saudi Arabia and threatened shipping through the strategic Bab el-Mandab strait.
Political allies and opponents will also be closely watching Trump’s first-ever meeting with Venezuela’s Rodriguez, who rose to power with the Trump administration’s blessing after US forces snatched President Nicolas Maduro in January and took him to New York to face drug trafficking charges.
Trump’s allies say the US is working with Rodriguez to open Venezuela’s oil sector to US investment, but Democrats and some Republicans say his administration has not done enough to press for new elections in the South American nation.
During the meeting with the leaders of Denmark and Greenland, its overseas territory, Trump will ink an accord designed to increase US military presence on the island while limiting that of geopolitical adversaries. Danish and Greenland officials hope the accord will put an end to Trump’s past comments suggesting he might take Greenland by force.
(Reporting by Gram Slattery and Humeyra Pamuk; Editing by Don Durfee and Kevin Buckland)
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