During a press conference after the meeting, Zelensky was also seen repeatedly touching his nose and face and sniffing. Similar behaviour was observed during his bilateral meeting with Trump .

The Ukrainian leader was responding to questions from reporters about his discussions with the US president and whether Trump had shifted his position towards Ukraine.

"He wants to end the war and he mostly spoke with me and we with our teams about it yes, he said that he will do everything to help the end the war."

A reporter then asked Zelensky whether he was prepared to meet Putin alongside Trump.

"So you're prepared to meet President Putin in a trilateral meeting?" he was asked.

"I'm ready," Zelensky replied.

The High-Level Week of the 81st session of the UN General Assembly is taking place in New York from September 22-28, with around 130 heads of state and government in attendance.