Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky met with Donald Trump in person on Friday, as public tensions rise between the two men over defending Ukraine against a Russian invasion and in the midst of the U.S. presidential election.
“We both want to see this end, and we both want to see a fair deal done,” Mr. Trump told Fox News, referring to the fighting between Russia and Ukraine, as he stood alongside Mr. Zelensky after a 40-minute meeting. “The president wants this to end, and he wants it to end as quickly as possible. He wants a fair transaction to take place.”
The Ukrainian president said the war should not have started and added that it was necessary to put pressure on Russian President Vladimir Putin and restore peace for the families of those killed.
“We must do everything to put pressure on him to stop this war. He is on our territory. This is what we need to understand.”
This meeting comes at a critical moment in the Russo-Ukrainian war, as election day approaches in the United States.
Donald Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris, his Democratic opponent, have taken very different approaches to Ukraine. Mr. Zelensky has been keen to maintain good relations with the United States, his country’s biggest supplier of weapons and money for the war. But the future of that support would be uncertain if the Republican candidate wins the election.
Mr. Trump, who has touted his good relationship with President Putin and called the Russian leader “pretty smart” for invading Ukraine, has for months criticized American support for Ukraine and ridiculed the Ukrainian head of state calling him a “salesman” for persuading Washington to provide arms and funding to its military as it tries to push back Moscow.
The delicate subject of “favor”
On Friday, Donald Trump discussed his first impeachment proceedings, which congressional Democrats continued after he asked Volodymyr Zelensky for a “favor”: that he investigate Joe Biden, now president, and his son , Hunter, who served on the board of directors of a Ukrainian gas company.
At the time the former president requested this “favor,” he was withholding US$400 million in military aid from Ukraine as it fought Russian-backed separatists on its eastern border. He was later acquitted of impeachment charges by the Republican-led Senate.
“He could have entertained the gallery and played smart,” said Mr. Trump. “And he didn’t. He said, “President Trump has done absolutely nothing wrong.” He said it loud and clear.”
Mr. Zelensky told reporters in October 2019, as Congress launched its impeachment inquiry, that there was “no blackmail” by Mr. Trump. He also told reporters, “I don’t want to interfere in the election in any way,” trying to publicly and privately distance himself from U.S. domestic politics.
But the Associated Press later reported that, despite the Ukrainian president’s denials, U.S. officials were aware that he was feeling pressure from the Trump administration to investigate Joe Biden even before his phone call with Mr. Trump at subject of “favor”.
Words that cause divisions
Friday’s meeting almost didn’t happen, despite Mr. Zelensky’s office saying something had been planned during the Ukrainian leader’s visit to the United Nations General Assembly, during which he makes his final speech to his allies.
In an interview with the “New Yorker” published earlier this week, Volodymyr Zelensky suggested that Donald Trump did not understand and was oversimplifying the conflict. The Ukrainian leader added that Mr. Trump’s running mate, Senator JD Vance, was “too radical” and had essentially advocated that Ukraine “make a sacrifice” by “giving up its territories.”
Mr. Trump criticized Mr. Zelensky and Ukraine twice this week. Speaking in North Carolina on Wednesday, he called Ukraine “demolished” and its people “dead.”
“Any agreement – the worst agreement – would have been better than the one we have now,” said the Republican candidate. “If they had made a bad deal it would have been much better. They would have given up a little and everyone would be alive, all the buildings would be built and all the towers would age for another 2000 years.”
Meanwhile, Kamala Harris stood alongside President Zelensky on Thursday and said Mr Trump’s push for Ukraine to quickly reach a deal to end the war were “not peace proposals ”, but “surrender proposals.” Donald Trump assured Thursday that he was not advocating a surrender.
As he prepared to sit down for Friday’s meeting, a reporter asked him if Ukraine could win the war and he replied, “Of course. They could.”
He added of Volodymyr Zelensky: “We have a very good relationship. And I also have a very good relationship, as you know, with President Putin. And if we win, I think we will solve the problem very quickly.
The Ukrainian president interrupted Mr. Trump’s remarks by saying: “I hope we will have better relations with each other.” Before moving on to another question, the former US president interjected to say: “But, you know, it takes two to tango.”
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Adriana Gomez Licon reported from Fort Lauderdale, Florida, and Lisa Mascaro reported from Washington.
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