President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky Confirmed On Wednesday, he spoke by phone with President-elect Donald Trump shortly after his victory in the 2024 presidential election, praising Trump's campaign promise to return the United States to geopolitical pre-eminence.
President Zelenskiy described the conversation as a “great phone call,” perhaps recalling the long-running dispute over a conversation between the two presidents that Congressional Democrats sought to use to impeach Trump in 2019. President Trump repeats referred to President Zelenskiy called the call “perfect” but reiterated that the meeting was appropriate for two heads of state.
Ukraine's president on Wednesday confirmed that Trump had defeated Vice President Kamala Harris and surpassed the 270 electoral vote threshold needed to become president for a second time, news agencies confirmed. He was one of the first world leaders to offer his congratulations.
In a statement about his phone call with Trump on Wednesday, Zelensky emphasized Trump's large lead over Harris in the vote and called Trump's “incredible campaign” and “landslide victory.” and praised the president-elect's family.
“We agreed to maintain close dialogue and advance cooperation. Strong and unwavering American leadership is essential to the world and to a just peace,” Zelenskiy said.
In an evening address to Ukrainians on Wednesday, Zelensky sounded optimistic about the expected change in U.S. policy from outgoing President Joe Biden to President Trump.
“Today is a truly special day, and a piece of news has captured the world's attention. Absolutely convincing election results in America. Clear leadership from President Trump. Congratulations on this victory,” Zelenskiy said. said.
“In general, it was very important for Ukraine and Europe as a whole to consistently hear the words of the then 45th President of the United States about 'peace through strength,'” the president said. “And if this becomes the policy principle of the 47th president of the United States, America and the entire world will undoubtedly benefit from it.”
“It's not without reason that Ronald Reagan's name comes up a lot these days. People want confidence, they want freedom, they want a normal life,” he continued. “And for us, this means living free from Russian aggression and with a strong America, a strong Ukraine, and strong allies.”
Zelenskiy thanked Democrats for their “bipartisan support” and recalled having several conversations and meetings with Trump throughout the year in anticipation of a possible victory. Trump and Zelensky are the last met In September, when the President of Ukraine visited the country to attend the United Nations General Assembly, they met directly in New York.
At the time, Zelenskyy said he and Trump had a “common view that the war must be stopped and that Putin cannot win.”
“We both want this to end and we both want a fair deal,” President Trump said. “It should stop, and I'm sure the president (Zelenskyy) wants it to stop and I'm sure President Putin also wants it to stop, so that's a good combination.”
President Trump also accepted an invitation to visit Ukraine.
In his first congratulations to President-elect Trump, Zelensky reiterated his belief in “peace through strength.”
“I look forward to an era of a strong United States under President Trump's resolute leadership,” the Ukrainian president said.
“We are interested in developing mutually beneficial political and economic cooperation that benefits both countries,” he wrote. “I personally congratulate President Trump and look forward to discussing ways to strengthen the strategic partnership between Ukraine and the United States.”
Zelenskiy was elected president of his country in 2019, a remarkable feat given his lack of political experience or background as a comedian, late in Trump's presidency. Still, the two leaders have a close relationship, which Congressional Democrats sought to use to impeach then-President Trump. Democrats accused Trump of improperly urging the Ukrainian president to investigate corruption by the Biden family in his country during a phone call with Zelensky.
“I have never spoken to the president in a quid pro quo capacity. That's not my preference,” Zelenskiy insisted in an interview. He has repeatedly denied the Democrats' accusations, insisting that dialogue was appropriate, making it impossible for Democrats to pursue impeachment.
President Trump fondly recalled Zelenskiy's support throughout the impeachment process in September.
“When they made up the impeachment hoax, it was a hoax, it was just a Democratic hoax, and we won,” he explained. “But one of the reasons we won so easily was because [President Zelensky] When he was asked, it was on the phone with the president. And he replied that he could have acted cute in the grandstand, but he didn't. ”
“He said President Trump did nothing wrong. He said it so clearly that the impeachment hoax died there,” he continued. “He might say, 'Well, I don't know.' I don't know. 'To be honest, I haven't even told you about this. But he was, he was a hunk of steel. “President Trump has done nothing wrong,” he said. I had a very good call. ”
