The Republican candidate for the presidency of the United States, Donald Trump, appears to have backed down, at least in public, from his criticism of the Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelensky, whom he had previously described as “the best salesman in the world” and someone who “ rejects a peace agreement with Russia. In the meeting between the two this Friday in New York, the former president reiterated that if he wins the elections he will quickly end the war in Ukraine, his usual promise regarding this crisis. But this time he has specified, in front of a poker-faced Zelensky, that he will collaborate to achieve it with both Moscow and kyiv.
The meeting took place after a week of growing tensions between the Ukrainian president and Republican politicians, especially Trump himself, at a key moment for Ukraine in its fight against the Russian invasion and just 40 days before the US elections.
Both appeared before the press moments before beginning their meeting at the Trump-owned tower in the Big Apple. Side by side, their images could not be more different: the burly Trump, in a blue suit and red jacket; the small Zelensky, with the olive green military t-shirt that has become his brand image. They both wanted to put on a good face in public. “The fact that we meet is a good sign,” the candidate pointed out.
The former president also assured that he maintains a “very good relationship” with Zelensky “and with the (Russian) president, Vladimir) Putin” and will collaborate with both to end the war, if elected on November 5. “I think that if we win, I think we will resolve (the conflict) very quickly,” he added.
Trump was also positive toward his interlocutor: “He’s been through a lot, probably like no one else, almost no one else in history, if you think about it, and we’re going to have a conversation and see what we can come up with.” But, asked if Ukraine should cede areas of its territory to Russia, he responded: “We’ll see what happens.”
The leader of the invaded country, for his part, did not want to go into Trump’s statements and limited himself to a diplomatic comment: “I think we share the opinion that the war in Ukraine must stop and that Putin cannot win.” He also explained that he was meeting with the former president to present his “victory plan.” That four-point proposal, which he also raised in the White House, has not yet been made public. However, it is assumed that it includes the use of long-range missiles against targets inside Russia, something for which the United States is reluctant to grant permission.
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The meeting between the two occurred a day after Zelensky was received at the White House by President Joe Biden and Vice President and Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris. Both expressed their Government’s “unwavering” commitment to continuing economic and military assistance to kyiv, without which Ukraine, bled dry after almost three years of fighting, would be forced to end up surrendering on the terms dictated by Moscow.
Harris and Trump’s positions on Ukraine are diametrically opposed. The vice president has described support for the invaded country as a matter of “strategic interest” for the United States; If Russia prevailed, other authoritarian leaders would “take note” and act accordingly, the Democrat assured at the beginning of the meeting in her office at the White House this Thursday.
The Republican has criticized the delivery of billions of dollars in weapons and other aid to kyiv, has questioned whether Ukraine can win the war and maintains that if he returns to the presidency he will end the conflict in a matter of “one day.” He has never given details of how exactly he intends to achieve this, but it would presumably force Ukraine to accept Russian conditions. Trump’s number two, JD Vance, has suggested that the Ukrainian government should cede large chunks of its territory to Moscow.
This Friday’s meeting between Trump and Zelensky almost did not happen. The Ukrainian side had previously noted that it expected a meeting between the two. But entering this week there were no conversations scheduled.
On the eve of their talks at the White House, Republicans criticized Zelensky for having visited a munitions factory in Pennsylvania, the key state in these elections, accompanied by two Democratic legislators. In the eyes of the opposition party, this act was equivalent to a gesture in favor of candidate Harris. It had also caused discomfort that, in an interview published by the magazine The New YorkerOn Sunday, the Ukrainian president called JD Vance “very radical” for his suggestions on the territory of Ukraine.
On Wednesday, Trump complained at a rally in North Carolina: “We continue to give billions to a man who refuses to make a peace agreement” with Russia. On Thursday, the president of the House of Representatives, Republican Mike Johnson, avoided accompanying Zelensky on his visit to the Capitol, in which the rest of the leaders of the US Congress did participate.
Faced with the prospect of not speaking with the man who could occupy the White House starting next January 20, Zelensky wrote him a letter in which he asked for a meeting this Friday in New York. “You know that I always speak with great respect about anything that relates to you, and that is how it should be… I think it is important that we have personal contact and that we understand each other 100%,” indicated the letter, which Trump has published on his social networks. After receiving it, the Republican candidate announced this Friday’s appointment at a press conference.
