John Jefferson
Former President Donald Trump met with the president of Ukraine at Trump Tower in New York City on Friday, saying he has a “very good relationship” with Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
“It’s very important to share our plan, all of our steps on how we can strengthen Ukraine,” Zelenskyy said. He explained to reporters that he decided to meet with both Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris because “after November, we don’t know who Americans [will decide to] be the president.”
Speaking with Fox News after the meeting, Trump said, “We both want to see this end and we both want to see a fair deal made. And it’s got to be fair. And I think that’ll happen at the right time. I think it’s going to happen.”
Neither Trump nor Zelenskyy publicly explained details of a potential deal.
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“It’s an honor to have the president with us, and he’s been through a lot” Trump said of Zelenskyy’s visit, at one point saying “[Zelenskyy has] gone through hell, his country has gone through hell.”
The meeting at Trump Tower comes just after Zelenskyy met with Harris in Washington, D.C.
Harris and Zelenskyy gave a joint address at the White House on Thursday, where she pledged unwavering support for the Ukrainian effort and criticized Trump’s consideration of negotiated peace at the cost of some captured regions of the country.
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“In candor, I share with you, Mr. President, there are some in my country who would, instead, force Ukraine to give up large parts of its sovereign territory, who would demand that Ukraine accept neutrality and would require Ukraine to forego security relationships with other nations,” Harris said.
Zelenskyy affirmed on Friday after meeting with Trump that the former president shares the “common view that the war in Ukraine has to be stopped.”
“He’s going through a tremendous amount,” Trump said on Friday. “We’re going to have a discussion and see what we can come up with.”
A brief exchange between the two leaders highlighted the high stakes of the Russian invasion of Ukraine and the U.S.’s role in ending the conflict.
“We have a very good relationship. I also have a very good relationship, as you know, with President Putin,” Trump said. “And I think if we win we’re going to get [the war] resolved very quickly.”
“I hope we have more good [sic] relations,” Zelenskyy interjected, emphasizing his desire to have a stronger relationship with the U.S. than Russia.
“It takes two to tango, and we will,” Trump responded.
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