Trump meets with Zelenskyy in New York, vowing to resolve Ukraine war

Washington — Former President Donald Trump met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy at Trump Tower in New York on Friday morning, where the GOP nominee vowed to bring a quick end to the war between Russia and Ukraine if he captures the White House.

“We have a very good relationship, and I also have a very good relationship, as you know, with President Putin,” Trump said before the meeting. “And I think if we win, I think we’re going to get it resolved very quickly.”

Zelenskyy, who has been in the U.S. to attend the U.N. General Assembly and to meet with U.S. officials, interjected to note that he hopes he and Trump “have more good relations,” compared with Putin. Trump replied that it “takes two to tango.”

Trump has been highly critical of U.S. funding to Ukraine and, at times, Zelenskyy — an uneasy relationship that was made even less comfortable after the Ukrainian president visited an ammunition plant in battleground state of Pennsylvania. House Speaker Mike Johnson called on Zelenskyy to fire his ambassador to the U.S., Oksana Markarova, over the Pennsylvania trip, which did not include any Republican officials.

Zelenskyy has in turn been critical of Trump, saying the former U.S. president “doesn’t really know how to stop the war.” Trump frequently says Russia “would have never attacked Ukraine” if he was president. 

After the meeting, Trump told Fox News that he “learned a lot” from his sitdown with the Ukrainian leader.

“I think I haven’t changed from the standpoint, we both want to see it end and a fair deal made. It has to be fair. I think it will happen at the right time. I think it is going to happen,” Trump said. “The president wants it to end as quickly as possible. He wants a fair transaction to take place.”

“Putin killed so many people and, of course, we need to do everything to pressure him to stop this war,” Zelenskyy said. “He is in our territory. That’s the most important. He is in our territory and how to stop the war, to pressure him as we can, we have to do it.”

In a post on Truth Social later Friday, Trump wrote that the pair had a “great meeting.” 

“If I’m elected President, the war with Russia and Ukraine will end quickly. If not, that war will never end, and will phase into WORLD WAR III,” Trump said.

Trump has frequently claimed that he would be able to end the war in Ukraine quickly, in as little as “a day.” CBS News’ Caitlin Huey-Burns asked him what an end to the fighting would look like.

“I don’t want to tell you what that looks like,” he responded. He said of Ukraine that Russian leader Vladimir Putin “told me often it’s the apple of his eye.” Trump claimed he warned against invading Ukraine and said, “‘Vladimir, don’t even think about doing it.'” 

On Thursday, Trump told reporters “I believe I can work that out.” Asked whether Ukraine should cede land to Russia to end the war, Trump did not answer directly.

“Let’s get some peace,” he said. “We need peace. We need to stop the death and destruction. Don’t you think? Wouldn’t that be nice?”

Earlier in the day, Trump posted to his social media platform, Truth Social, a message purportedly from Zelenskyy requesting a face-to-face meeting with Trump while Zelenskyy would already be in New York. 

Trump’s announcement that he would meet with Zelenskyy came shortly after that post. 

Zelenskyy was in Washington on Thursday for meetings with top members of Congress, as well as President Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris. A national security spokesperson for Harris’ campaign said in a statement, “The only Ukraine deal Trump wants is one that benefits Putin, not Ukraine. “

contributed to this report.