Foreign
U.S. President Donald Trump said he “put no pressure” on Ukraine during a phone call with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky that is at the centre of domestic political speculation amid reports of a secret whistleblower complaint.
During the call, Trump is reported to have pressured Zelensky to provide information and launch a probe into alleged corruption by the son of Trump’s political rival and presidential candidate Joe Biden who was working in Ukraine.
“I did not make a statement that ‘You have to do this or I’m not going to give you aid,’” Trump said of his call with Zelensky. “I put no pressure on them whatsoever. I could have.”
The president, who has accused Biden of possible corruption even as there is no evidence being offered, was referring to U.S. military assistance to Ukraine.
The aid started in the wake of Russia’s annexation of Crimea in 2014 and which Trump had suspended for a time, though it has since been resumed.
The Ukrainian president is on a three-day visit to the U.S. and is due to meet with Trump on Wednesday.
They are set to hold a brief joint press appearance, which could become extremely animated given the immense interest in the U.S.
Several of Trump’s key opponents are livid that the president may have used his office to target a political rival. The president’s supporters are rejecting the claims.
Trump is facing calls to release the transcript of his conversation with Zelensky.
On Monday, the president resisted such a move, saying it does not set a “great precedent,” just minutes after stating that he would “hope” the transcript did get released, claiming it would vindicate him.
“If you see it, and I hope you see it frankly, you will find out that I did not do that at all,” Trump said during a meeting with Polish President Andrzej Duda on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly.
The U.S. president went on an extended rant about the press, referring several times to “dishonest” reporters and the “fake news,” appearing angry that the issue emerged last week from reports in the media.
Congress is stepping up investigations into a whistleblower complaint about the phone call that reportedly originated from within the intelligence community.
Lawmakers were already looking into concerns that the president was pressuring Ukraine for his own benefit.
Biden, who is challenging Trump for the presidency in next year’s election, was vice president when his son Hunter joined the Ukrainian company Burisma’s board of directors amid a pivotal strengthening of Ukrainian state ties with the West, particularly the U.S. and the EU.
Biden has called for the release of a complete transcript of the July 25 phone call, saying in a statement that, if true, Trump’s pressuring of Zelensky would have amounted to abuse of office.
Zelensky, inaugurated four months ago on promises to root out entrenched corruption in the former Soviet Ukraine, plans to give a speech this week to the United Nations in New York, with the domestic U.S. crisis threatening to overshadow his visit.
NAN
-Sep 24, 2019 @ 08:10 GMT |
Tags: Trump says he put ‘no pressure’ on Ukraine; Zelensky due in U.S.
