Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky Met with Former President Donald Trump at his New York base in Trump Tower on Friday. Trump was stressing the urgent need to end the Russia-Ukraine war.
The Republican presidential nominee has repeatedly criticised the Ukrainian leader on the US campaign trail, and a meeting between the pair had seemed unlikely until hours before.
As the two men stood side by side, Zelensky said he thought they had a “common view that the war has to be stopped and Putin can’t win”, adding that he would discuss with Trump details of his “victory plan”.
Despite years of differences, Trump insisted he had a very good relationship with Zelensky: “I also have a very good relationship as you know with President Putin and I think if we win [the election] we’re going to get it resolved very quickly.”
“It has to end, [Zelensky] is going through hell, his country’s going through hell like few countries have ever,” Zelensky told reporters.
Ahead of Friday’s meeting, Trump repeated his long-standing claim that he would be able to “work out something” to settle the war if he won the presidential election, long before Joe Biden leaves office in January.
He has refused to elaborate when asked whether he believes Ukraine should cede territory to Russia as a means of ending the war.
Although Zelensky has been visiting the US since Sunday, their meeting was only confirmed on Thursday night, when Trump posted a screenshot of a text message from President Zelensky saying it was “important for us to have a personal contact and to understand each other 100%”.
Trump has grown increasingly critical of continued US funding for Ukraine, and in recent days has sharpened his attacks against Zelensky, calling him the “greatest salesman on Earth”.
In contrast, Zelensky recently told the New Yorker magazine that he believes Trump “doesn’t really know how to stop the war”.
When asked about Zelensky’s comments on Thursday, Trump replied: “I do believe I disagree with him. He doesn’t know me.”
This meeting arrives amidst ongoing battles in eastern Ukraine and Western allies’ continued support for Kyiv. Zelensky’s visit and the unexpected dialogue with Trump have reignited discussions about the future of U.S. involvement and how best to support a peaceful resolution without compromising Ukraine’s sovereignty.