Zelenskyy and Trump teams discuss holding meeting at Trump residence – Time

The teams of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and US presidential candidate Donald Trump have discussed a potential meeting between the two leaders at Trump's Florida estate.

Source: European Pravda, citing Time

Details: Last week, Trump said that he would probably meet with Zelenskyy during his visit to the United States. According to two officials close to Zelenskyy, their teams had discussed the idea of a meeting at Trump's Mar-a-Lago estate, but the Ukrainian team rejected this possibility, believing it could be seen as endorsing the Trump campaign.

Instead, the Ukrainians asked to meet with Trump in a more neutral location, such as on the set of a US television network for a joint interview. This option was still being discussed when Zelenskyy landed in the US, one Ukrainian official said.

But Zelenskyy's visit to an arms factory in Scranton, Pennsylvania, where President Joe Biden was born and raised, changed the course of events.

As he toured the plant with the state's Democratic governor, Josh Shapiro, Zelenskyy expressed his gratitude to all the American workers who help produce weapons for Ukraine. But the visit upset Trump and his allies, and the talks about a possible meeting with Zelenskyy broke down.

One Ukrainian official said that Trump seemed to have taken offence.

The former president has changed his rhetoric in recent days and has been highly critical of Zelenskyy. But Zelenskyy's team sees no other option but to continue trying to appeal to the Republican candidate and gain his support.

One Ukrainian official noted that the main hope is that Trump's views on the war have not yet been determined, and that his unpredictable nature could mean his position may turn back towards Ukraine.

Background:

• Republicans in the US Congress have initiated an investigation into President Zelenskyy's visit to a munitions factory in Pennsylvania.

• House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer said the committee is seeking to determine whether the Biden-Harris administration tried to use Zelenskyy to help Vice President Harris' presidential campaign.

• On Wednesday, US House Speaker Mike Johnson released a letter to President Zelenskyy containing a categorical demand over the Ukrainian president's visit to the Pennsylvania factory.

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