 "Republican presidential nominee and former U.S. President Donald Trump and Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskiy meet at Trump Tower in New York. Reuters")
Former US President Donald Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy began their first in-person meeting at Trump Towers in New York on Friday (September 27).
Standing next to Zelenskyy ahead of the meeting, Republican presidential candidate Trump said he would work with both Ukraine and Russia to end their ongoing war.
Trump claimed he had “a very good relationship” with Zelenskyy and with Russian President Vladimir Putin. “I think if we (Republicans) win (the November 5 US presidential election), I think we’re going to get it resolved very quickly,” he said.
For his part, Zelenskyy told reporters he wants to discuss with Trump his “victory plan” for Ukraine.
He has already presented this plan to Biden and Harris at the White House on Thursday (September 26), the same day that Biden announced a new military aid package worth nearly $8 billion for Kyiv.
Trump vows to get Ukraine war ‘solved’
Following the high-stakes meeting, the Republican White House hopeful said, “It’s a shame but this is a war that should have never happened and we’ll get it solved.”
Speaking to reporters at Trump Tower, he said “It is a complicated puzzle… Too many people dead. Too many beautiful cities.”
Verbal spat before meeting
Contrary to Trump’s claim of a good relationship with Zelenskyy, he and the Ukrainian leader had engaged in a war of words just earlier this week.
Impact Shorts
View AllThe Republican had accused Zelenskyy of refusing to “make a deal” to end the conflict. He was also reportedly offended by Zelenskyy’s comments to The New Yorker magazine, in which he said that the Trump “doesn’t really know how to stop the war”– a claim the former President has made multiple times.
US media had in fact reported the meeting would not happen due to the friction.
Zelenskyy and Trump face other challenges in patching up their relationship, too.
Trump has long been critical of the billions of dollars in US support for Ukraine. Moreover, during his debate with Democrat presidential candidate Kamala Harris, he refused to say he wanted Ukraine to win the war against Russia.
With inputs from agencies