Donald Trump and Volodymyr Zelensky to meet as tensions rise

Former President Donald Trump is scheduled to meet Ukraine’s President, Volodymyr Zelensky, as tensions rise between the two men over how the future defense of Ukraine against Russian invasion will be conducted if Trump wins the U.S. election.

Trump has long argued that Vladimir Putin would not have dared invade Ukraine if he had been president at the time of the invasion in February 2022. He referred to Zelensky as a “salesman” for securing U.S. financial and military assistance for Ukraine, worth over $175 billion according to the Council on Foreign Relations.

In addition, Trump praised Russia’s historic military victories this week and called for the U.S. “to get out” and end its involvement with Ukraine-Russia conflict. Speaking Wednesday in North Carolina, Trump referred to Ukraine as “demolished” and its people as “dead.”

“Any deal—the worst deal—would’ve been better than what we have now,” Trump said. “If they made a bad deal it would’ve been much better. They would’ve given up a little bit and everybody would be living and every building would be built and every tower would be aging for another 2,000 years.”

According to Trump, it was Zelensky’s office who approached him for the visit which is set for 9.45 a.m. Eastern Time on Friday at Trump Tower in New York. Trump said in a news conference Thursday “I look forward to seeing him tomorrow. I believe I will be able to make a deal between President Putin and President Zelensky, quite quickly.”

The timing is significant for the U.S. election.

Clear political battle lines have already been drawn between Democrat rival Harris and Republican Trump over the future of U.S. support for Ukraine and the nation’s role as the main contributor to NATO. The U.S. is due to contribute up to $755 billion in 2024 according to the international defense pact’s own estimates.

In keeping with President Biden’s stated foreign policy goals, Harris reinforced her continued support for NATO and Ukraine when she accepted her nomination for candidacy in August. Trump, however has remained highly critical, even threatening to withdraw intelligence cooperation and military assistance to NATO members who in his view don’t pay their fair share.

Friday’s meeting almost wasn’t scheduled to go ahead despite Zelensky’s office stating it had been planned during the Ukrainian leader’s visit to the U.N. General Assembly, during which he is making an endgame pitch to his international allies.

In an interview with The New Yorker, Zelensky suggested Trump oversimplifies the conflict and does not understand Ukraine. The Ukrainian leader further explained his position that Trump’s running mate JD Vance was “too radical” by advocating for Ukraine to “make a sacrifice” by “giving up its territories.”

Harris on Thursday stood alongside Zelensky and said Trump’s push for Ukraine to quickly cut a deal to end the war were “not proposals for peace,” but “proposals for surrender.” Trump on Thursday said he was not advocating for a surrender.

While Trump and Vance have long been skeptics of U.S. backing for Ukraine, other Republican allies of the former president have backed Kyiv’s defense against Moscow’s invasion and argue supporting Ukraine is still in America’s interest.

This article includes reporting from The Associated Press