Donald Trump has vowed to strike a peace deal between Ukraine and Russia after confirming details of a meeting with President Volodymyr Zelensky, who is currently visiting the United States.
The Ukrainian leader will visit Trump Tower in New York against a backdrop of rising tensions, with many Republicans irritated at what they regard as Mr Zelensky’s preference for the administration of incumbent Joe Biden and Kamala Harris, his vice-president and would-be successor.
Ms Harris, Trump’s Democratic opponent in November, met with Mr Zelensky yesterday and expressed her unwavering support.
Former president Mr Trump, who says Mr Zelensky asked for the meeting, told reporters on Thursday: “I look forward to seeing him tomorrow.
“I believe I will be able to broker a deal between President Vladimir Putin and President Zelensky quite quickly.”
The meeting is highly anticipated and comes as Election Day approaches, with Mr Trump and Mr Harris taking contrasting positions on support for Ukraine in what is the third year of its war with Russia, following Putin’s invasion on February 24, 2022.
Mr Trump claims Vladimir Putin would never have invaded had he been president, and has also mocked Mr Zelensky as a “salesman” for obtaining US assistance for Ukraine.
Recently, Mr Trump has praised Russia’s historic military victories and insisted that the US needs “to get out” and end its involvement with Ukraine.
Friday’s meeting was almost not scheduled, despite Mr Zelensky’s office stating that something had been planned during the Ukrainian leader’s visit to the UN General Assembly, where he is making his final pitch to allies.
In an interview with The New Yorker published earlier this week, Me Zelensky suggested that Trump does not understand and oversimplifies the conflict.
The Ukrainian leader also claimed Mr Trump’s running mate, JD Vance, was “too radical” and had essentially called for Ukraine to “make a sacrifice” by “giving up its territories.”
Mr Trump has criticised Mr Zelensky and Ukraine on two separate occasions this week. Speaking in North Carolina on Wednesday, Trump referred to Ukraine as “demolished” and its people as “dead.”
He declared: “Any deal – even the worst deal – would have been better than what we have now.
“If they had made a bad deal, it would have been much better. They would’ve given up a little bit, and everyone would still be alive, and every building would still be standing, with towers ageing for another 2,000 years.”
By contrast, Ms Harris stood alongside Mr Zelensky yesterday and stated that Trump’s push for Ukraine to negotiate a swift deal to end the war was “not a proposal for peace,” but “a proposal for surrender.”
Mr Trump responded by insisting he was not advocating for surrender.
While Mr Trump and Mr Vance have long been sceptical of US support for Ukraine, other Republican allies of the former president have backed Kyiv’s defence against Moscow’s invasion, arguing that supporting Ukraine is in America’s interest.
