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Media: Trump declines Zelensky's invite to Ukraine over 'conflict of interests'

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Media: Trump declines Zelensky's invite to Ukraine over 'conflict of interests'
Former U.S. President Donald Trump speaks during an event at the Mar-a-Lago Club April 4, 2023 in West Palm Beach, Florida. (Joe Raedle/Getty Images)

Former U.S. President Donald Trump declined Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky's invitation to visit Ukraine, citing a "conflict of interests," the U.S. news channel Newsmax reported on Nov. 5.

"I have great respect for President Zelensky, but think it would be inappropriate to go to Ukraine at this time," the Republican favorite for the 2024 presidential elections said in a statement to Newsmax.

"The Biden administration is currently dealing with him, and I would not want to create a conflict of interest."

Zelensky extended an invitation to Trump in an interview with NBC News on Nov. 5, hoping to demonstrate to the former U.S. leader that the war with Russia cannot be solved within 24 hours, as Trump once professed.

"If he can come here, I will need 24 minutes — yes, 24 minutes. Not more. Yes. Not more — 24 minutes to explain (to) President Trump that he can't manage this war," the Ukrainian leader said.

"President Biden was here, and I think he understood some details which you can understand only being here," he added.

Questions have arisen over what a Republican victory would mean for future U.S. support of Ukraine.

While U.S. President Joe Biden has been an avid supporter of Ukraine, providing $75 billion in financial and military aid since the start of the full-scale invasion, candidates for the Republican presidential nomination have largely opposed the continuation of this scale of funding for Ukraine.

Zelensky said he "doesn't know" if Trump would back Ukraine if he wins the presidential vote.

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Martin Fornusek

Senior News Editor

Martin Fornusek is a news editor at the Kyiv Independent. He has previously worked as a news content editor at the media company Newsmatics and is a contributor to Euromaidan Press. He was also volunteering as an editor and translator at the Czech-language version of Ukraïner. Martin studied at Masaryk University in Brno, Czechia, holding a bachelor's degree in security studies and history and a master's degree in conflict and democracy studies.

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