Trump meets with Zelenskyy in New York, vows to end war fast if elected

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy met with Donald Trump in New York on Friday to discuss America’s support for his nation’s fight against Russia.

The meeting came a day after Mr. Zelenskyy met with President Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris at the White House and urged them to keep sending arms to his country.

Speaking with reporters before the meeting, Mr. Trump and Mr. Zelenskyy said they want to see the war end.

Mr. Trump reiterated his vow that if he wins the presidential race in November, he’ll negotiate a war-ending deal that satisfies both sides before he takes the oath of office.

“It has to end at some point,” Mr. Trump said. “He is going through hell and his county is going through hell.”

He said of Mr. Zelenskyy, “We have a very good relationship. I also have a very good relationship with President Putin, and I think if we win we are going to get it resolved very quickly.”

Mr. Zelenskyy said he shares Mr. Trump’s view that the war must end. But he also stressed, “Putin can’t win, and Ukrainians have to prevail.”

Mr. Trump has been a critic of the financial assistance the U.S. has sent to Ukraine amid its war.

At recent campaign rallies, he has described Mr. Zelenskyy as the “greatest salesman in history.”

“Every time he is in the country, he walks away with 60 billion dollars,” Mr. Trump said this week in Pennsylvania.

He also noted that the Ukrainian president is cheering for Kamala Harris.  “He wants them to win this election so baldy. But I will do it differently; I will work out peace.”

Standing beside Mr. Zelenskyy in New York, Mr. Trump praised him.

He credited him with thwarting the Democrats’ investigation into Mr. Trump’s withholding military aid to Mr. Zelenskyy to pressure Ukraine to investigate Joe Biden.

“He was like a piece of steel,” Mr. Trump said. “He said President Trump did nothing wrong.”

Ms. Harris on Thursday suggested Mr. Trump is on the wrong side of the Ukraine-Russia war.

“There are some in my country who would instead force Ukraine to give up large parts of its sovereign territory, who would demand that Ukraine accept neutrality and would require Ukraine to forgo security relationships with other nations,” she said.