Trump gate-crashes the party

Good morning and welcome to the penultimate Global Playbook from the U.N. General Assembly, where the annual high-level debate is continuing today. 
Weather check: the weather has darkened along with the mood, with rain pouring down across New York Thursday, adding to the traffic gridlock. Expect more rain throughout the weekend. 
Trump holds court: Former U.S. President Donald Trump did what he does best — stealing the media limelight — as he gave a press conference in front of a line of American flags at Trump Tower on 5th Avenue Thursday. He announced he will receive President Volodymyr Zelenskyy this morning in his gold-lacquered home away from home, and met with Keir Starmer last night for a two-hour private dinner before the British prime minister headed to the airport.
“Many of the leaders have been calling me and they want to meet. I guess they see the poll numbers,” the former president said. We’ve all the details below.  
Back from the brink: As Israel continues to pound Lebanon, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is due to deliver an address to the General Assembly today, after delaying but ultimately not canceling the trip (as was stated in Wednesday morning’s Global Playbook) Protests are expected as the Israeli prime minister arrives at the U.N. this morning. 
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BACK IN TOWN: A day after leaving New York to visit Washington, D.C., President Zelenskyy is back in New York today, where he will meet with former President Donald Trump this morning at Trump Tower. 
Making peace with Republicans: The meeting was a surprise given fury in Republican circles about Zelenskyy’s visit to an ammunitions factory in the swing-state of Pennsylvania on Sunday. House Speaker Mike Johnson wrote to Zelenskyy, demanding he fire his ambassador to the United States “immediately.”
Talking peace in Ukraine: Trump used his press conference Thursday to state multiple times that Putin would not have invaded Ukraine if he had been in power, and pledging to make a deal between Putin and Zelenskyy “quite quickly” if elected.  Describing Ukraine as the apple of Putin’s eye, he said he had warned his “friend” against invasion. “I said Vladimir, don’t even think about it.” 
America alone once more: Trump’s comments last night have done little to assuage fears among U.S. allies that a second Trump term could spell a resurgence of isolationism in the United States. Trump blasted Europe in particular about the support it’s giving to Ukraine. “The United States is paying for most of it, and Europe is not chipping in,” he declared. “It’s very unfair on the United States,” stating repeatedly that he made this argument about NATO contributions, and claiming that then “the money came pouring in.” 
Peace plan: In words that will alarm Kyiv, Trump refused to rule out Ukraine ceding land to Russia as part of a peace agreement.  “We’ll see what happens … let’s get peace, we need peace,” he said when asked if Ukraine should give up land. 
Election time: The U.S. election, less than six weeks away, has been looming over proceedings here in New York, with allies braced for a possible return of a president who rejected many of the principles of multilateralism during his tenure.  And it’s not just Trump’s commitment to the transatlantic alliance and NATO. As POLITICO’s Esther Webber writes, British officials are worried that Trump could drastically cut funding to the U.N. if he wins. 
Laying the ground: Still, diplomats and foreign leaders are prepared this time round. Estonian President Alar Karis suggested that part of the job is convincing Trump to come around on issues. 
“We live with whoever is going to be president of the United States, and we have to find a way to convince also the president of your country if we disagree on some things,” he told POLITICO’s own Nahal Toosi in an interview. 
Managing expectations: He added that some figures from the first Trump administration “convinced me not to be worried much, as far as Ukraine is concerned that the U.S. is going to support them under Trump’s presidency. As I said, the transatlantic bond is extremely important.”
PLAYING THE INFLUENCE GAME: Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan may have already left town, but there was a heavy media presence outside the Turkish Consulate, known as “Turkish House” which occupies a prime piece of diplomatic real estate, right across from the entrance to the United Nations on First Avenue. 
Mayor link: The glossy consulate that soars above the skyline has found itself at the center of the scandal engulfing New York Mayor Eric Adams. The mayor was charged with fraud and bribery Thursday, with the 50-page indictment containing explosive allegations that Adams took benefits worth $100,000 from Turkish businessmen and officials.
Details: Prosecutors say Adams accepted free travel on Turkish Airlines and hotel rooms, illegal contributions to his 2021 mayoral campaign and other perks from a number of people connected to the Turkish government, Erica Orden and Joe Anuta report.  In exchange, Adams is accused of pressuring officials to approve the 36-floor consulate building.  
Webs of power: The scandal throws a light on the murky world of access and influence that exists on the edge of the U.N. power center here in New York, where representatives from 193 countries— including those with dubious ethical standards when it comes to graft and corruption— mingle with those who wield influence.
Getting the house in order: One nugget from the indictment, Erica and Joe report, is that Turkish officials were desperate to open the consulate in advance of Erdoğan’s visit to the city for the U.N. General Assembly.
RUSSIA’S FRIENDS:  When Russia tried to derail a joint communiqué at the Summit of the Future on Sunday by introducing fresh amendments at the 11th hour, there were a handful of authoritarian-leaning countries that backed them. Among them? Belarus. Since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine — part of which was launched from Belarus — Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko has been one of Putin’s most loyal defenders. 
From the other side: But the reality inside the former Soviet enclave, where Lukashenko only just clung to power in 2020 due to a rigged election, is very different. 
“There are two Belaruses now,” opposition figure Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya told Playbook in an interview this week at the U.N. “The Belarus represented by Lukashenko is a very small part, and represents a system that was built by him that serves Russia. Then there’s Belarus, the nation. We are different. We want a democratic Belarus, free and fair elections, and we see Belarus as part of the European Union.”
Lukashenko’s Foreign Minister Maxim Ryzhenkov is in town, and has been holding bilateral meetings, including with his Indian counterpart, Subrahmanyam Jaishankar.
Making the case for democracy: Tsikhanouskaya called on Russia to withdraw its troops and nuclear weapons from Belarusian soil.  “Putin wants, first of all, to drag Belarus more into this war. And secondly, he wants to anchor the presence of Russia in Belarus for many years ahead,” she said.
Political prisoners:  She was also in town to highlight the plight of political prisoners. Tsikhanouskaya became the de facto opposition leader after her husband Siarhei Tsikhanouski was arrested and jailed for planning to run against Lukashenko in the 2020 election. She hasn’t heard from him for a year and a half.
“I don’t know if he’s alive; I don’t know how he’s being treated,” she said. “Belarus is now like in Stalin’s time. The number of people being detained is increasing; at least half a million people have fled the country.”
Lukashenko’s power to lock people up “is the main source of his power at the moment,” she says. “He tries to threaten people to such an extent so they won’t go against him. But of course, he can’t make people trust him again.” 
Torture still going on: Her comments come as the Human Rights Council was told this week that torture, gender-based violence and rigged trials are still going on in the country, as a recently created panel of independent experts on Belarus presented a damning assessment of the situation in the country to the U.N. body. 
“With most of the opposition either imprisoned or forced into exile since the 2020 election, the state of Belarus is creating a chilling effect on any participation in activities seen as critical of the government,” chair of the panel Karinna Moskalenko said Monday.
DOGS ON DUTY: With so many heads of state in town, security is super-tight around U.N. Headquarters with snipers patrolling the roofs of the buildings here and streets cornered off within a two block radius of U.N. HQ. United Nations security police and explosive experts also have some trusted lieutenants in tow — trained sniffer dogs are checking bags before credentialed press and delegates enter the complex. 
KIDS ‘R’ US: Kudos to the fifth-graders who have been navigating the chaos around the East River and skillfuly making their way from their distinctive yellow school buses through the security cordons to their elementary schools on the east side each morning. 
HONOR FOR LANDSBERGIS: Lithuania’s Foreign Minister Gabrielius Landsbergis was awarded the Transatlantic Leadership Award by the Center for European Policy Analysis in Washington, D.C. Thursday. Other recipients of CEPA’s 2024 awards include U.S. Representatives Michael Turner, Michael McCaul, and Michael Rogers and Russian opposition figure Vladimir Kara-Murza.
SURGE PRICING: Such is the demand for transport to get around the city during the evenings this week that the cost of ride-sharing journeys is soaring. Uber prices have more than doubled in the peak after-dinner hour between 10 and 11 p.m. as U.N. delegates head for nightcaps or some much-needed shut-eye.
For those who want to get away from it all, the NYC Bird Alliance is offering a two-hour tour through Brooklyn’s Prospect Park at 9 a.m. this morning to check out the different species of migratory birds who stop by on their way south. The free event is part of New York Climate Week. Register here.
Here’s round-up of what else is on today.
— High-level general debate of the United Nations General Assembly continues, 9 a.m. Speakers include: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu; Robert Golob, prime minister of Slovenia; Mia Mottley, prime minister of Barbados;  Ugandan Prime Minister Robinah Nabbanja.
— U.N. Security Council meeting on the situation in the Middle East, 3 p.m. Chaired by Robert Golob, prime minister of Slovenia.
— Meeting of the Group of Friends for the Review of the Rome Statute, hosted by German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock, 9:30 a.m., German House.
— Foreign Ministers of Caribbean Small Island Developing States, CARICOM lunch, 1:30 p.m., U.N. Headquarters.
— Empowering Economies: Women’s Role in Sustainable Fashion Innovation, 10-10:30 a.m., SDG Media Zone, U.N. Headquarters.
— Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong meets U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres, 12:15 p.m., Secretariat Building, U.N. Headquarters.
— Navigating Europe’s Challenges: A Conversation With Josep Borrell, chaired by Mike Froman, 12 p.m.  Council of Foreign Relations.
— Health Systems Implementing Climate Action Inaugural Meeting, hosted by the New York Academy of Medicine and the Yale Center on Climate Change and Health, 8 a.m.-5:30 p.m., 1216 5th Avenue.
— Africa Open for Business, organized by Mission of Senegal, 10 a.m., Trusteeship Council Chamber, U.N. Headquarters.
Thanks to Nahal Toosi, Mona Zhang and Phelim Kine and editor Sanya Khetani-Shah.
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