Trump and Zelensky meet in New York

Former President Donald Trump met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky Friday morning at Trump tower in New York City. It was the first meeting between the two men in five years when the pair met at the United Nations General Assembly amid the first impeachment of Trump.

Speaking in front of the gathered press, Zelensky said he discussed the details of his Victory Plan with Trump. “We thoroughly reviewed the situation in Ukraine and the consequences of the war for our people,” Zelensky stated. “Many details were discussed. I am grateful for this meeting. A just peace is needed.” 

In a post on X following the meeting, Zelensky added: “We share the common view that the war in Ukraine must be stopped. Putin cannot win. Ukrainians must prevail.”

Trump asserted a fair peace deal is possible, as he has in the past on the campaign trail. “We both want to see this end, and we both want to see a fair deal made,” Trump remarked. “It should stop and the president (Zelensky) wants it to stop, and I’m sure President Putin wants it to stop and that’s a good combination.”

Trump pitched himself as the man to broker peace between Russian President Vladimir Putin and Zelensky. “We [Zelensky and Trump] have a good relationship and I have a very good relationship with President Putin. I think if we win we’re going to get it resolved very quickly.”

“I hope we have more good relations with us,” Zelensky replied. “It takes two to tango,” Trump said with a laugh.

The meeting comes at a time when Trump and Zelensky have been increasingly critical of each other. In an interview with the New Yorker last week, Zelensky was critical of both Trump and his running mate, Sen. J.D. Vance (R-OH). The Ukrainian president labeled Vance as “too radical” and suggested Trump is unable to swiftly end the conflict. 

“My feeling is that Trump doesn’t really know how to stop the war even if he might think he knows how. With this war, oftentimes, the deeper you look at it the less you understand.”

Likewise, Trump was critical of Zelensky’s handling of the war at a Wednesday rally in North Carolina, telling the audience:

Those cities are gone, they’re gone, and we continue to give billions of dollars to a man who refused to make a deal, Zelensky. There was no deal that he could have made that wouldn’t have been better than the situation you have right now. You have a country that has been obliterated, not possible to be rebuilt.

The meeting between the two men came a day after Zelensky met with Trump’s Democratic opponent in November’s presidential race, Vice President Kamala Harris. Harris used her joint appearance with Zelensky to criticize various peace plans that have been floated to end the conflict, such as Vance’s peace plan, which would see a ceasefire, Ukrainian neutrality, and the erection of a demilitarized zone along the current frontlines.