Despite their differences, Trump says he will meet with Volodymyr Zelensky, the president of Ukraine, on Friday.

The Republican presidential contender and former US President Donald Trump announced that he will meet with President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine on Friday, September 27.

Trump stated, “President Zelensky has asked to meet with me, and I will be meeting with him tomorrow morning at around 9:45 in Trump Tower,” during a press conference on Thursday at Trump Tower in Manhattan.

Zelensky has not yet confirmed the meeting, and as recently as yesterday, three people with knowledge of Trump’s campaign stated that the president of Ukraine had no intention of meeting with Trump while visiting the US.

Zelensky is in the nation for the 79th UN General Assembly in New York. Following rumors that Zelensky’s entourage was unwilling to meet with Trump, the former US President shared a letter from the president of Ukraine on Thursday, requesting a convenient time for their meeting in New York.

During a New York campaign stop last week, Trump informed a reporter that he would “probably” speak with Zelensky.

Trump has expressed disapproval of the American approach to the conflict between Russia and Ukraine, which erupted in February 2022 when Russian President Vladimir Putin launched a full-scale invasion of his neighbor in eastern Europe. Trump restated his assertion that Russia would not have invaded Ukraine if he had been president during his news conference on Thursday.

During the presidential debate earlier this month in Philadelphia, Trump stated that he thought the war should stop but would not say if a Ukrainian win would be in the best interests of the United States.

“I think it’s in the U.S. best interest to get this war finished and just get it done, negotiate a deal because we have to stop human lives from being destroyed,” he stated.
Since the beginning of the conflict, US President Joe Biden and Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris have been steadfast supporters of Zelensky, giving tens of billions of dollars in military assistance to Ukraine and promising to back him should Harris win.

Zelensky and Harris met at the White House on Thursday, during which the vice president promised to “ensure Ukraine prevails in this war.”

Zelenksy stated on X, the former Twitter, on Thursday that he had discussed his “victory plan” with both Biden and Harris, whom he had also met that day. The “victory plan” of the Ukrainian president is a tactic meant to improve Ukraine’s military standing in order to eventually achieve peace with Russia.