New York: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky wore a grim expression as he stood next to former US president Donald Trump. The two leaders appeared briefly before their meeting in Trump Tower, their first in five years.
As Zelensky stood silently beside him, Trump presented the Russia-Ukraine war as one that both sides wanted to end, including its instigator, Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky with former US president Donald Trump at Trump Tower in New York.Credit: AP
Trump did not fault the Russian leader for the invasion or for the illegal seizure of territory or for the thousands of Ukrainians he has bombed out of existence. Instead, he described the situation as if it were a dispute between two parties operating in good faith that could be resolved in a “fair deal”, but only if he returns to the White House.
“I’ve been saying that I believe if I win, we’re going to have a very fair, and I think, actually rather rapid deal,” Trump said. The war, he added, “should stop, and the president wants it to stop. 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.”
Zelensky is in a difficult position with Trump. He knows Trump has a solid chance of winning in November and that if he does, he will immediately face a decision over how much support to give to Ukraine and what posture the United States will take in the conflict.
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But as the US election nears, Ukrainian officials have grown increasingly concerned about Trump’s claims that he would end the war swiftly if re-elected, fearing this could result in Ukraine being forced to cede significant territory to Russia.
Breaking with his self-professed neutrality, Zelensky questioned Trump’s plan to end the war in a recent interview with The New Yorker. He also described Trump’s running mate, Senator J.D. Vance of Ohio, who has been deeply critical of previous US aid packages for Ukraine, as “too radical”.
“My feeling is that Trump doesn’t really know how to stop the war even if he might think he knows how,” Zelensky said in that interview. “With this war, oftentimes, the deeper you look at it, the less you understand.”