Trump gets along well with Zelenskyy after earlier criticizing him

On Wednesday, Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump accused Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky of saying “nasty” things about him and accused him of failing to reach a deal with Russia’s Vladimir Putin to end Zelensky’s invasion of the country.

But on Friday, both men addressed the key differences in their positions, if not with smiles, then at least with a noticeably awkward expression. President Trump has refused to say which side he favors in Russia’s war in Ukraine, Zelenskyy has insisted. Ending the war “justly” in order to preserve pre-war national boundaries.

Friday morning’s meeting in New York between Trump and Zelensky capped a rollercoaster week for the Ukrainian president. The Ukrainian president’s continued fight depends largely on the outcome of the U.S. presidential election. – Little Ukraine continues to join the fight.

“We need (a) just peace. (a) A just peace is needed. (a) It is very important to have a just peace for our people, especially for families who have lost children. It is (a) great tragedy.” Zelenskyy told Fox News After the pair met.

President Trump said his position had not changed, but appeared to soften somewhat.

“We both want to see this come to an end and see a fair deal done. It has to be fair,” Trump said, standing next to Zelensky. “And I think it’s going to happen at the right time.”

Trump’s tone was a marked change from just Wednesday, when he and several senior Republicans publicly attacked Zelenskyy.

“It’s something we need to discuss quickly because the president of Ukraine is in our country and he’s not making any very unpleasant insults toward me, your favorite president,” Trump said. From the campaign scene in North CarolinaReferring to Zelenskyy’s explanation of Trump running mate JD Vance’s position, “Too radical,” he said in an interview with The New Yorker..

Vance once declared that he did not care what happened to Ukraine and has been one of the Senate’s most prominent critics of support for Ukraine. The Ohio Republican defended Trump, saying he would resolve the war before he takes office if he wins in November. Supporters of Ukraine saw this stance as a veiled threat to withhold aid aimed at forcing Ukraine to accept Russian sovereignty over the invaded territory. .

“Any agreement, even the worst, would have been better than what we have,” Trump said Wednesday. “Ukraine is gone.”

He went on to describe Ukraine as a post-apocalyptic wasteland where life continues as before the war outside the conflict-ridden eastern and southern regions. Ministry of Economy of Ukraine August growth rate increased by 3.5% Compared to the same month a year ago.

Earlier this week, three Democratic politicians were present during President Zelenskyy’s tour. A Pennsylvania plant making munitions for Ukraine’s war effort. It puts Republicans on Capitol Hill in a difficult position.

“I heard there are 400 people working here, and I really wanted to come and say thank you,” Zelensky said. “400 people saved millions of Ukrainians.”

Zelenskyy’s visit to the historic Scranton, Pa. facility included Sen. Bob Casey (D-Pa.), Rep. Matt Cartwright (D-Pa.) and Democratic Gov. Josh Shapiro. With control of the House and Senate up for grabs in the November election and Shapiro once a leading contender to be Vice President Kamala Harris’ running mate, Republicans said the swing state event smelt of politics.

Speaker of the House Mike Johnson (Republican-LA) was dispatched Sent an open letter to Zelensky demanding that his country’s ambassador be fired. In the United States, there is Oksana Markarova. Johnson accused Markarova of organizing “partisan campaign events designed to help the Democratic Party, which was clear election interference.”

Rep. James Comer (R-Ky.) also requested details from the Pentagon about why Zelensky flew to the event on an Air Force plane.

According to opinion polls Support for Ukraine to help fend off Russia’s brutal invasion continues Support for Zelenskyy is particularly high in the United States.

An Economist/YouGov poll conducted September 21-24 found that 53% of respondents wanted to continue or increase military aid to Ukraine, while 28% wanted it to be reduced. But the issue is polarizing, with 44% of Republicans wanting to cut aid. And by a margin of 51% to 25%, those polled approved allowing Ukraine to strike strategic targets inside Russia, which U.S. officials have been reluctant to do out of fear it would anger the Kremlin.

Zelenskyy’s favorability rating continued to be significantly higher than that of the country’s leading politicians, at +17 percentage points. In the opinion poll, Biden had -16, Vice President Kamala Harris had a tie, and Trump had -14.

Zelenskyy has received a much warmer reception from Democrats this week, including appearing with President Joe Biden and Harris on Thursday and announcing about $8 billion in military aid.

The US administration promised to supply additional air defense supplies, including US-made ‘glide bombs’ capable of long-range attacks, and support training for 18 F-16 fighter pilots.

Harris has signaled that she stands with Zelenskyy.

“President Putin started this war, and he could end it tomorrow if he withdraws his troops from the sovereign territory of Ukraine,” she said.

Zelenskyy said he met with both presidential candidates on Friday to show Ukraine could work with either side after the election. But as President Trump and Prime Minister Zelensky met with reporters before the meeting, painful concerns among Ukrainians and their defenders that Trump would end up backing Putin in any attempt to broker peace still seemed to hang in the air. It was visible.

Trump again praised Zelensky, who was a comedic actor before becoming president, and said he has a “very good relationship” with Putin. Interject by pointing between two people“I hope we can have a better relationship.”

“Oh, I understand.” Trump said with a small smile.