Donald Trump is set to meet Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Friday at 9.45am (local time), the former US president said.
“I look forward to seeing him tomorrow,” he said, adding, “I believe I will be able to make a deal between President (Vladimir) Putin and President Zelenskyy, quite quickly.”
“It’s a shame what’s happening in Ukraine, so many deaths, so much destruction,” Trump said.
Trump has said that Putin would never have invaded if he were president, mockingly referring to Zelenskyy as a “salesman” for securing US aid for Ukraine. Recently, Trump lauded Russia’s historical military successes and asserted that the US should “get out” and end its involvement in Ukraine.
He also questioned the differences in aid being provided to the war-torn Ukraine from US and EU.
“One of the things that is bothersome to me is that Europe is paying only a small fraction of the money that the United States of America is paying. Recognizing that the economy of EU is quite close to that of the US, Trump said that they should be equalizing,” he said.
“I did this with Nato. I made them all pay,” he added.
Just before Trump’s remarks, Harris reaffirmed support for Ukraine and, in a subtle jab at Trump, stated that those suggesting Ukraine should trade land for peace with Russia were endorsing “proposals of surrender.”
Meanwhile, Zelenskyy met President Joe Biden and presented his “victory plan” to him.
“During the meeting with @POTUS, I presented the Victory Plan to him. We discussed details to strengthen the Plan, coordinated our positions, views, and approaches, and tasked our teams with holding consultations on the next steps. We deeply appreciate that Ukraine and the United States have stood side by side since the very beginning of the Russian invasion. Your determination is incredibly important for us to prevail,” he said in a post on X.
