Zelensky says he 'is not afraid' of Trump's potential presidency
Ukraine is ready to cooperate with the Republican Party if Donald Trump is elected as the U.S. president, President Volodymyr Zelensky said at a press conference in Kyiv on July 15.
On the campaign trail, the Republican Party's presumptive presidential nominee has repeatedly said he could end Russia's war within 24 hours if elected president, without specifying the steps for reaching a peace deal between Kyiv and Moscow.
In early July, Zelensky said that he is "potentially ready" to meet with Trump and urged him to reveal his plan for ending Russia's war against Ukraine so Kyiv can be prepared for any risks such a plan might entail.
Ukraine has bipartisan support and will develop relations with Washington regardless of the outcome of the presidential elections, Zelensky told journalists.
"As for U.S. presidential candidate Donald Trump's plan on ending the war, the general things are clear to me. If Donald Trump becomes president, we will work. I am not afraid of this," Zelensky said.
His remarks come days after the three-day NATO summit in Washington where allies affirmed Ukraine's "irreversible" path toward membership as well as $43 billion in funding for next year.
According to Zelensky, the agreed support will not be reconsidered, no matter who is the U.S. president.
The former U.S. president has long criticized U.S. aid to Ukraine, and as the presumptive Republican nominee in the 2024 U.S. elections, his sway over the party had contributed to the months-long deadlock in Congress over U.S. aid to Ukraine.
Asami Terajima
