Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump stated on Friday that he would work with both Ukraine and Russia to bring an end to the ongoing war, as he met Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, who was in New York to attend the United Nations General Assembly meeting.
While Trump praised Zelenskyy, he also emphasised his strong relationship with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
“We have a very good relationship (with Zelenskyy), and I also have a very good relationship, as you know, with President Putin,” Trump stated. “And I think if we win, I believe we’re going to resolve this very quickly,” he added.
Speaking to reporters, Zelenskyy expressed his intention to discuss his “victory plan” for Ukraine with Trump, marking their first meeting since 2019. Zelenskyy also noted he would be meeting with Trump’s Democratic rival in the November 5 election, Vice President Kamala Harris, as Ukraine required strong US support in its continued conflict with Russia.
Zelenskyy has used his US visit to advocate for his “victory plan,” which a US official described as a revised request for additional weapons and the removal of restrictions on long-range missile usage. The plan underlines Russia’s ultimate defeat in the war, though some officials view this goal as unrealistic.
When asked by a reporter on Thursday whether Ukraine should cede some territory to Russia to end the war — a stance Kyiv firmly rejects — Trump replied: “We’ll see what happens.”
Despite previous critical comments on the campaign trail, Trump was enthusiastic about meeting Zelenskyy on Friday. “It’s an honour to have the president here, and he’s been through a great deal,” Trump said, and added, “He’s endured a tremendous amount, like few others in history, if you really think about it, and we’re going to have a discussion to see what solutions we can find.”
Trump also indicated that if he won the Presidential election, he would immediately begin working towards resolving the Ukraine conflict, even though he would not formally assume office until late January 2025.
Earlier in the week, Trump had suggested that Zelenskyy favoured Harris to win the upcoming election. He had also referred to Zelenskyy as “the greatest salesman of all time” for securing billions in military aid from the US and Europe.
Zelenskyy met with Democratic President Joe Biden and Harris on Thursday. Over the weekend, he also visited a munitions factory in Pennsylvania alongside the state’s Democratic governor, Josh Shapiro, an ally of Harris. This visit frustrated Trump’s campaign and angered some congressional Republicans, who viewed it as a political move, especially given Pennsylvania’s importance as a battleground state likely to influence the election outcome.
As recently as Thursday, those close to Trump’s campaign had indicated that a meeting with Zelenskyy was highly unlikely. However, the former president seemingly changed his mind during Zelenskyy’s stay in the US.
(With Inputs from Reuters)
Disclaimer: The copyright of this article belongs to the original author. Reposting this article is solely for the purpose of information dissemination and does not constitute any investment advice. If there is any infringement, please contact us immediately. We will make corrections or deletions as necessary. Thank you.
