UN week and Lavrov’s talks Vremya’s full UN roundup

Sep 22

Vremya’s Mikhail Akinchenko reviews UN high-level week, citing Lula’s warning about trust, Lavrov’s address, Trump and Pezeshkian on Iran and the Iranian delegation’s contacts with U.S. envoys. It covers Lavrov’s meetings with Rubio, Guterres, Grossi and Wadephul, Putin’s G20 invitation and circulation of a Russian report disputing the Bucha killings. It recalls Trump–Zelenskyy exchanges, an energy-truce proposal, Lavrov’s rejection of a pause in military operations and his comments on U.S. sanctions. The Bucha allegations, hostile characterizations, motives and diplomatic judgments remain the programme’s and speakers’ accounts; contacts and proposals are distinguished from an achieved compromise, and the independently identified appearances and meetings remain separate occurrences.

Trump disclosed that Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner met members of Iran's delegation on the UN sidelines for three hours. He called the meeting good and said another would follow; Witkoff expressed optimism without substantive details. Kan had earlier reported efforts to arrange the talks and stressed that a Trump–Pezeshkian meeting was not scheduled. Fox also reported the three-hour meeting on September 22 and later distinguished it from a presidential meeting, which it said had not occurred. Its panel discussed the difficulty of reaching a deal with Iran's ultimate decision-makers. No agreement was announced. Reporting the following evening, Tagesschau says the three-hour U.S.–Iran talks ended without a result, contrasting with the earlier optimistic characterization while likewise reporting no agreement. CCTV's September 23 brief repeats Trump's description of the September 22 talks as productive and his plan for another meeting. It adds Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei's confirmation of Qatari mediation and his account of Iran's terms for reopening Hormuz: a permanent end to U.S. military action against Iran and its regional allies, lifting the naval blockade and all sanctions, returning frozen Iranian assets and compensating losses. These are Iranian demands; no acceptance or reopening is reported. Kan's September 23 follow-up cites a diplomat describing the September 22 talks as indirect and mediated by Qatar. It contrasts Trump and Witkoff's positive descriptions with Iran's conditions and says the positions remain far apart, particularly over Hormuz, sanctions, the naval blockade and guarantees against renewed war. The anchor describes the parties as having sat in one room, while the diplomatic correspondent expressly characterizes the contacts as indirect; the differing descriptions are unresolved. In the September 24 interview, Baier asks whether this week's contacts through mediators with Witkoff and Kushner changed anything. Pezeshkian says Iran seeks its rights under international law and an agreement if the other side accepts that framework. He supplies no concrete negotiating outcome. This qualified Iranian response supplements the earlier optimistic U.S. account and other broadcasters' reports of no result. TSN’s September 22 live feed carries Trump’s answer that the Iranian delegation talks took place that day and lasted three hours, followed by questions to his named envoys and qualified hopes for a deal. Its full account also contains the separate Trump–Zelenskyy exchange. Vremya’s September 27 retrospective identifies the three-hour UN contact and reports a Hormuz offer and an Araghchi-attributed U.S. rejection; it does not date those later proposal and rejection details from the meeting itself.