On Wednesday, Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump accused Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy of saying “nasty” things about him and criticized him for not reaching a deal with Russia’s Vladimir Putin to end the invasion of Zelenskyy’s country.
But Friday, both men were, if not all smiles, at least only somewhat visibly awkward as they tried to paper over a central difference in their stances: Trump has declined to say which side he favors in Russia’s war on Ukraine, and Zelenskyy has insisted on a “just” end to the war that would preserve his country’s pre-conflict boundaries.
The Friday morning meeting in New York City between Trump and Zelenskyy capped off a roller-coaster week for the Ukrainian president, whose bid to keep fighting hinges heavily on the outcome of the U.S. presidential election, given the U.S. supply of weapons is allowing the much-smaller Ukraine to remain in the fight.
“We need [a] just peace, we need [a] just peace. It’s so…