Donald J. Trump, the former president who boasts that with him in the White House Russia would never have invaded Ukraine, and Volodymyr Zelensky, the president whom Trump's campaign and a growing part of the Republican establishment ridicule by calling him "beggar and salesman", met on Friday in New York, in the huge tower owned by the billionaire right in front of the UN headquarters.
Zelensky met with Joe Biden and Kamala Harris on Thursday, who reaffirmed the U.S. commitment to his cause, but it was not clear if there would be a meeting with Trump, after what his party considered a serious offense. Before the meetings at the United Nations, the Ukrainian leader visited a weapons factory in the town of Scranton, Pennsylvania, a battleground state and notably where Biden was born. There was no one from the conservative party, which is currently criticizing Kiev and has officially demanded the removal of their ambassador.
The lack of harmony between both parties is evident. Trump has accompanied Zelensky and in front of the cameras he boasted of his ties... with Moscow. We have a very good relationship, and I also have a very good relationship, as you know, with President Putin. And I think if we win, I think we're going to get it resolved very quickly" Trump added in reference to the war.
"I hope we have more good relations between us," Zelensky interjected, always quick in close encounters. Trump, visibly uncomfortable with those words, responded with a cold "Oh, I see." And then added, "t takes two to tango, you know, and we will - we're going to have a good meeting today. And I think the fact that we're even together today is a very good sign" A few days ago, at a campaign event, it was reproached that he always "asks for billions of dollars and does not want to reach an agreement [with Russia]."
It is no secret that Zelensky and the Ukrainians pray for Harris to win. With Trump, the future of NATO and military aid to Kiev is in doubt. Republicans, especially leaders of the MAGA movement in Congress, delayed and almost prevented the approval of a vital aid package this year. And Trump, who has been asked countless times, refuses to say whether he prefers Ukraine or Russia to win the war.
But Zelensky needs to get along with the Republican leader, it is a purely existential matter. Western leaders (this Friday, the British) meet with him when they visit Washington, in events like the NATO Summit in July, which was a parade. And some even go to his residence in Florida at Mar-a-Lago, as Hungarian Viktor Orban, his great European ally, did.
In a brief statement to the media, Trump focused this Friday not on the war, but on himself, talking about how Zelensky responded to the impeachment proceedings against him in 2019. Trump incorrectly quoted the Ukrainian president as saying that he had done nothing wrong. But on this matter, the Ukrainian has wisely chosen not to engage, nor correct publicly, and has limited himself to generalities. "We have a common opinion that the war in Ukraine must stop," he said at the beginning of the session.
Trump insists that if he wins the elections, he will end the war immediately, but has not given any hints on how a peace agreement would be reached. Zelensky, on some occasions, has criticized Trump, saying that the former U.S. president "doesn't really know how to stop the war." After the meeting, not very long, the billionaire stated that he had "learned a lot," but reiterated that his point of view had not changed. "We both want it to end and for a fair agreement to be reached. It has to be fair. I think it will happen at the right time. I think it will happen," said Trump without clarifying what would be fair for Russia, a country that invaded its neighbor unprovoked and has devastated its territory.
In the meeting, Trump was accompanied by his campaign managers, but also by Richard Grenell, former Director of National Intelligence who could hold a high position if they return to power. In July, in public, Grenell explained that he believed that in a satisfactory peace agreement, Ukraine could maintain its current borders, but with "autonomous zones" within the country. Something that Kiev obviously rejects, but seems to have Trump's approval.