Former US President Donald Trump stated that he had “a very good phone call” with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. This conversation between the two leaders occurred on Friday, just one day after Trump accepted the GOP presidential nomination at the conclusion of the Republican National Convention (RNC).
It is worth mentioning that this call was the first time Trump and Zelenskyy had spoken since Trump left the White House in 2021. Following the conversation, both leaders expressed their satisfaction on their social media profiles.
“President Zelenskyy of Ukraine and I had a very good phone call earlier today. He congratulated me on a very successful Republican National Convention and becoming the Republican nominee for President of the United States. He condemned the heinous assassination attempt last Saturday and remarked about the American people coming together in the spirit of Unity during these times,” Trump wrote on TruthSocial.
“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. Both sides will be able to come together and negotiate a deal that ends the violence and paves a path forward to prosperity,” he added.
Zelenskyy’s response
The Ukrainian president also shared his perspective on X, formerly known as Twitter. In his post, Zelenskyy said: “Ukraine will always be grateful to the United States for its help in strengthening our ability to resist Russian terror. Russian attacks on our cities and villages continue every day.”
“We agreed with President Trump to discuss at a personal meeting what steps can make peace fair and truly lasting,” he added. The Ukrainian leader’s remarks came a few days after he stated that working with Trump, should he return to power, would be difficult.
I spoke with @realDonaldTrump to congratulate him on the Republican nomination and condemn the shocking assassination attempt in Pennsylvania. I wished him strength and absolute safety in the future.
I noted the vital bipartisan and bicameral American support for protecting our…
— Volodymyr Zelenskyy / Володимир Зеленський (@ZelenskyyUa) July 19, 2024
Zelenskyy’s statement came a day after Trump announced Ohio Senator JD Vance as his running mate for the 2024 presidential elections. Previously, the 39-year-old Republican Senator from Ohio had remarked that he “doesn’t care what happens to Ukraine one way or the other.”
“Maybe he really doesn’t understand what goes on in Ukraine, so we have to work with the United States,” Zelenskyy told BBC.
Reminiscence of the past
Interestingly, the phone call between the two leaders occurred just a few days before the five-year anniversary of their last conversation. That previous call had led to Trump’s first impeachment after he requested Zelenskyy to investigate Joe Biden based on discredited allegations.
This time, it was Zelenskyy who initiated the call following Trump’s survival of an assassination attempt at a Pennsylvania rally. It is noteworthy that Zelenskyy himself had faced an assassination attempt by Russia during the early days of Moscow’s full-scale invasion in 2022.
Although the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war was not a significant topic at the Republican National Convention, Trump did promise to end the conflict during his nomination acceptance speech.
“I will end every single international crisis that the current administration has created, including the horrible war with Russia and Ukraine, which would have never happened if I was president,” the former president averred.
The possibility of Trump’s re-election has alarmed several European countries that are supporting Ukraine during the war. They worry that a Trump administration might stop US military and economic aid to Kyiv. These concerns have intensified recently after Trump met with Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban on the final day of the NATO summit in Washington.
Trump also selected Ohio Senator JD Vance as his Vice Presidential candidate. Both Orban and Vance have argued for reducing military aid to Ukraine.