Former U.S President, Donald Trump has stated that he would work to end the Russia-Ukraine war with a deal “that’s good for both sides.”
Speaking to a small group of reporters ahead of a closed-door meeting with President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Trump said, “We’re going to work very much with both parties to try and get this settled and get it worked out.”
“It has to end. At some point, it has to end. He’s gone through hell. His country has gone through hell,” Trump said, standing next to Zelenskyy.
After their meeting, Trump told a news agency that he had not changed his position on the war.
“We both want to see this end, we both want to see a fair deal made,” he said.
Trump said that the war is a “complicated puzzle” and when asked what a fair deal would entail, he said it’s “too early to say that.”
Trump, appearing with Zelenskyy, also said that he “learned a lot” during his meeting with Zelenskyy on Friday.
Zelenskyy added that everything needs to be done to pressure Vladimir Putin to “stop this war.”
When asked whether there will be another meeting between Trump and Zelenskyy, Trump said that it could “very well happen.”
Zelenskyy invited Trump to come to Ukraine, to which Trump said that he would, adding “it’s a beautiful country, beautiful weather, beautiful everything.”
Trump Touts Strong Relationships With Zelenskyy And Putin
Appearing with the Ukrainian President, former President and Republican nominee Donald Trump said that he and Zelenskyy have a “very good relationship” before going on to say, “I also have a very good relationship with President Putin.”
“I think if we win, we’re going to get it resolved very quickly,” Trump said, referring to Russia’s war against Ukraine.
Standing next to Trump, Zelenskyy immediately responded to Trump’s comments about his positive relationship with Putin, and said that he hopes that he and Trump have a better relationship than the one between Putin and Trump.
“It’s an honor to have the president with us, and he’s been through a lot” Trump said, referring to Zelenskyy, who was standing next to him.
“He’s going through a tremendous amount,” Trump said, adding, “We’re going to have a discussion and see what we can come up with.”
Ukrainian President, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, said that he and former president Donald Trump have a “common view that the war in Ukraine has to be stopped” and that it was important to meet with both US presidential candidates.
Speaking briefly, Zelenskyy said he believes he and Trump have a common view that Ukraine has to prevail against Russia and acknowledged the importance of the U.S. election.
“We understand that after November … we hope that the strength of the United States will be very strong,” he said.
Zelenskyy’s meeting with Trump at Trump Tower in New York comes a day after the Ukrainian leader met with the Democratic nominee for President, Kamala Harris, in Washington DC.
Ahead of the meeting Friday, Trump had begun regularly criticizing Zelenskyy during campaign rallies, calling Zelenskyy the “greatest salesman in history” for his ability to acquire defense funding from the U.S.
While speaking about the war in Ukraine earlier this week, the former President said that he doubted anyone could beat Russia.
“That’s what they do is they fight wars. As somebody told me the other day, they beat Hitler, they beat Napoleon. That’s what they do, they fight,” Trump said.
He added, “Hitler and Napoleon, of course, both invaded Russia—Russia, in this instance, is the aggressor.”
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