Trump says he had a ‘very good phone call’ with Zelenskyy
Written by ABC AUDIO ALL RIGHTS RESERVED on July 20, 2024
(WASHINGTON) — Former President Donald Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy spoke over the phone on Friday, the two leaders said.
Zelenskyy reached out to Trump, according to a source close to the Ukrainian leader and Trump, who said the two had a “very good phone call.”
Zelenskyy said in a statement on social media that he spoke with Trump to “congratulate him on the Republican nomination and condemn the shocking assassination attempt in Pennsylvania.”
Zelenskyy, who has been the target of multiple assassination attempts himself, expressed his sympathy and horror at the assassination attempt, the source said.
In a statement on social media regarding the call, Trump said Zelenskyy “remarked about the American people coming together in the spirit of Unity during these times” in the wake of the incident.
Trump indicated that he will support Ukraine in getting a just peace, more than two years into the country’s war with Russia, according to the source. Zelenskky believes Trump is firmly committed to that, the source said.
“I appreciate President Zelenskyy for reaching out because I, as your next President of the United States, will bring peace to the world and end the war that has cost so many lives and devastated countless innocent families,” Trump said in his statement on the call. “Both sides will be able to come together and negotiate a deal that ends the violence and paves a path forward to prosperity.”
Zelenskyy said in his statement that Ukraine “will always be grateful to the United States” for its support in its battle against Russia, and that he agreed with Trump to “discuss at a personal meeting what steps can make peace fair and truly lasting.”
The call lasted 15 to 20 minutes and was warm and respectful, according to the source.
The conversation comes a day after Trump accepted the Republican party’s nomination to be its presidential candidate in his third bid for the White House.
In his keynote speech, Trump claimed that Russia’s attack on Ukraine “would have never happened if I were president.”
During the June debate against President Joe Biden, Trump pivoted toward how much money the U.S. has spent on the Russia-Ukraine war when asked about Russian President Vladimir Putin’s term.
“They’re not acceptable but look, this is a war that never should have started,” Trump said.
On Monday, Zelenskyy told reporters Kyiv will develop relations with the U.S. regardless of the results of the upcoming presidential election.
“I think that if Mr. Donald Trump becomes president, then we will work. I am not afraid of it,” he said.
Friday’s conversation comes nearly five years after the call between Trump and Zelenskyy that led to the former president’s first impeachment in 2019.
The then-Democratically controlled House voted to impeach Trump on two articles of impeachment, one for abuse of power and one for obstruction of justice, over allegations that Trump held up military aid for Ukraine to pressure Zelenskyy to investigate his political rivals in the July 2019 call.
Following a three-week trial, the then-Republican-controlled Senate acquitted Trump with just one Republican — Mitt Romney of Utah — voting to convict.
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