Former President Donald Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy met at Trump Tower on Friday with the former president touting his “very good relationship” with Russia’s President Vladimir Putin.
“I also have a very good relationship, as you know, with President Putin,” Trump said. “And I think if we win, I think we’re going to get it resolved very quickly.”
“I really think we will have more good relations,” Zelenskyy interrupted.
“You know, it takes two to tango, you know, and we will. We’re gonna have a good meeting today,” Trump responded.
Trump has repeatedly said he would negotiate an end to the war in 24 hours but has not provided specifics as to how, often showing a willingness to work with both sides.
“The president wants it to stop, and I’m sure President Putin wants it to stop, and that’s a good combination. So we want to have a fair deal for everybody,” Trump said in a joint interview with Fox News on Friday.
Trump and Zelenskyy publicly criticized each other earlier this week as Trump has criticized the U.S. funding of the war in Ukraine and has hinted he is unwilling to providing more assistance to the country.
“Every time Zelenskyy comes to the United States, he walks away with $100 billion. I think he’s the greatest salesman on Earth,” Trump said at a campaign event on Tuesday.
“My feeling is that Trump doesn’t really know how to stop the war even if he might think he knows how,” Zelenskyy said in an interview with The New Yorker. “With this war, oftentimes, the deeper you look at it, the less you understand. I’ve seen many leaders who were convinced they knew how to end it tomorrow, and as they waded deeper into it, they realized it’s not that simple.”
Trump and his running mate, Sen. JD Vance (R-OH), have hinted they would support Ukraine potentially ceding land to Russia in negotiations to end the war.
Vice President Kamala Harris met with Zelenskyy on Thursday and slammed Vance’s comments.
“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.
