Trump and Zelenskyy will meet as tensions rise over US backing for Ukraine

[September 27, 2024]  By MICHELLE L. PRICE, ADRIANA GOMEZ LICON and LISA MASCARO

NEW YORK (AP) — Donald Trump is set to meet with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy as public tensions have been rising between the two over Ukraine's defense against Russia's invasion.

Trump said Zelenskyy asked for the meeting. The visit is set for about 9:45 a.m. Eastern Time at Trump Tower in New York, less than a day after Vice President Kamala Harris, Trump’s Democratic opponent, met with the Ukrainian leader and expressed unwavering support.

“I look forward to seeing him tomorrow,” Trump said in a press conference Thursday. “I believe I will be able to make a deal between President (Vladimir) Putin and President Zelenskyy, quite quickly.”

The meeting is highly anticipated and comes as Election Day nears, with Trump and Harris taking sharply different positions on backing Ukraine in the third year of its war with Russia.

Trump argues Putin would never have invaded had he been president while derisively calling Zelenskyy a “salesman” for getting U.S. assistance for Ukraine. Trump has in recent days praised Russia’s historic military victories and insisted the U.S. needs “to get out” and end its involvement with Ukraine.

Friday's meeting almost wasn't scheduled despite Zelenskyy’s office saying something had been planned during the Ukrainian leader’s visit to the U.N. General Assembly, during which he is making his endgame pitch to allies.

In an interview with The New Yorker that was published earlier this week, Zelenskyy implied Trump does not understand and oversimplifies the conflict. The Ukrainian leader said Trump's running mate JD Vance was “too radical” and had essentially advocated for Ukraine to “make a sacrifice” by “giving up its territories.”

Trump ripped Zelenskyy and Ukraine on two separate occasions this week. Speaking Wednesday in North Carolina, Trump referred to Ukraine as “demolished” and its people as “dead.”

Republican presidential nominee former President Donald Trump speaks at Trump Tower in New York, Thursday, Sept. 26, 2024. (Seth Wenig)

“Any deal — the worst deal — would’ve been better than what we have now,” Trump said. “If they made a bad deal it would’ve been much better. They would’ve given up a little bit and everybody would be living and every building would be built and every tower would be aging for another 2,000 years.”

Meanwhile, Harris on Thursday stood alongside Zelenskyy and said Trump's push for Ukraine to quickly cut a deal to end the war were “not proposals for peace,” but “proposals for surrender.” Trump on Thursday said he was not advocating for a surrender.

While Trump and Vance have long been skeptics of U.S. backing for Ukraine, other Republican allies of the former president have backed Kyiv's defense against Moscow's invasion and argue supporting Ukraine is in America's interest.

One ally of both Ukraine and Trump is Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C. At a closed-door meeting Zelenskyy had with senators on Capitol Hill, also on Thursday, Graham stood up and said he had been talking to Trump about the Ukrainian president, according to a person familiar with the situation and granted anonymity to discuss the private meeting.

Graham told those in the room he would talk to Zelenskyy privately about his conversations with Trump, the person said. As the meeting came to a close, Graham pulled Zelenskyy aside and the two had a private conversation.

Graham is close to the former president, despite an on-again-off-again relationship, and has often played a role as an intermediary on various subjects. He did not respond to a message seeking comment Thursday.
___

Gomez Licon reported from Fort Lauderdale, Florida, and Mascaro from Washington.

All contents © copyright 2024 Associated Press. All rights reserved