By Maria Ortiz
Jul 19, 2024, 8:45 PM EDT
Donald Trump spoke by phone on Friday with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, the day after officially accepting the Republican nomination for President in the 2024 election.
Both Trump and Zelenskyy shared details of the call on social media..
Trump called the conversation “very good” He added that Zelenskyy congratulated him on becoming the Republican presidential nominee and condemned the assassination attempt.
“I appreciate President Zelenskyy 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,” Trump said in a post on Truth. Social. “Both sides will be able to come together and negotiate a deal that will end the violence and pave a path to prosperity.”
Zelenskyy said in a post on X that the two agreed to hold a personal meeting in the future to discuss “what steps can make peace fair and truly lasting.”
“Ukraine will always be grateful to the United States for its help in strengthening our ability to resist Russian terrorism,” the Ukrainian president said.
Trump and Zelensky’s first call since 2021
This has been the first conversation between the two political leaders since Trump left the White House in 2021 and also marks their first contact since the former president accepted his nomination as presidential candidate at the Republican National Convention on Thursday.
During a call between Trump and Zelenskyy on July 25, 2019, The then president pushed his Ukrainian counterpart to investigate his political rival Joe Biden and his son Hunter.
The House, controlled by Democrats at the time, impeached Trump in December 2019, but the Republican-led Senate acquitted him on charges of abuse of power and obstruction of Congress, in Trump’s first impeachment trial.
Trump has opposed military aid to Ukraine
Trump’s opposition to military aid to Ukraine has raised questions about U.S. support for kyiv if the former president wins a second term in 2024.
In his speech at the Republican National Convention, Trump promised to end the war between Russia and Ukraine, as well as the war between Israel and Hamas, and boasted that “neither of them would have happened” if he were president.
Biden has been a staunch ally of Ukraine, sending the country hundreds of billions of dollars in aid.
Keep reading:
– Zelensky says Putin would “hate” Biden’s presidency as much as Trump’s
– Trump attacks aid for Ukraine and Biden accuses him of wanting to leave NATO
– Putin criticises Western arms shipments to Ukraine, calling it a “very dangerous step”