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NRI Latest News: Former President Donald Trump will sit down with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy amid growing tensions between the two leaders amid Ukraine’s defense against Russia’s invasion.
Trump said that the meeting was requested by Zelenskyy and is scheduled to occur at 9:45 am ET at Trump Tower in New York. This follows a previously scheduled meeting between Vice President Kamala Harris.
Trump’s Democratic foe and Zelenskyy, during which she reiterated her pledge of continued support for Ukraine.
“I’ll look forward to seeing him tomorrow,” Trump said Thursday at a news conference. “I think I can make a deal, between President (Vladimir) Putin and President Zelenskyy, rather quickly,” the Associated Press news agency reported.
On February 24, 2022, Russia invaded Ukraine with a significant escalation of theRussia-Ukrainian War.
This meeting is historic in itself, but as Election Day looms, the pivot between Trump and Harris on U.S. support for Ukraine in its fight against Russia could not be more starkly opposed. In fact, Trump even accused Putin wouldn’t having invaded Ukraine if he were still in the White House and referred to Zelenskyy as a “salesman” in seeking US help. Just this past week, Trump bragged about Russia’s proud military heritage and said that America needs to leave the mess of the Ukraine involvement.
As much as everybody had waited eagerly for the scheduled meeting on Friday, it was not easy to schedule it. Zelenskyy’s office said that a meeting was planned when the Ukrainian leader visited the UN General Assembly to rally support from other allies.
Throughout the week, Trump has attacked Zelenskyy and Ukraine on multiple occasions. Speaking in North Carolina, he referred to Ukraine as “demolished” and the people “dead.” In an interview with The New Yorker, Zelenskyy said that Trump doesn’t really understand the essence of the war. He referred to the fact that Trump’s running mate, JD Vance, had argued for Ukraine to “make a sacrifice” and concede some territory.
He stood on Thursday at the side of Zelenskyy to condemn Trump’s position, referring to his calls for an end to the war in short order as “not proposals for peace but proposals for surrender.” Harris fired back by saying he is not asking for surrender.
Though Trump and Vance have been leery of US assistance for Ukraine, some of Trump’s Republican allies believe that supporting Ukraine’s plight against Russian aggression advances U.S. interests. One such ally, Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, stopped by a closed-door meeting with Zelenskyy on Capitol Hill. Graham said he had discussed Zelenskyy with Trump, an aide said, speaking on condition of anonymity.
Graham, who has had a complicated past with Trump, volunteered Thursday to speak with Zelenskyy about his conversations with the former president after the meeting ended. He did not answer questions for comment on Thursday.
