Zelenskyy: Trump would be hard work, but we are hard workers

World 09:05 19.07.2024

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy says working with Donald Trump if he is re-elected as US president will be “hard work, but we are hard workers”, Ednews reports citing BBC.

In an exclusive interview with the BBC in London, Mr Zelensky said he was willing to work with anyone who was in power in the US.

Just days ago, Trump announced Ohio Senator JD Vance as his running mate in November's vote. The 39-year-old has in the past said “he doesn’t care what happens to Ukraine one way or the other”.

The nomination has renewed fears that US commitment to Ukraine could fall away if Trump is returned to the White House in November's election.

“Maybe he doesn’t understand what goes on in Ukraine, so we have to work with the United States,” Mr Zelenskyy told the BBC.

The Ukrainian leader is in the UK to attend a European Political Community (EPC) meeting, where he delivered a speech on Thursday afternoon.

The EPC, which includes the 27 members of the European Union as well as 20 non-members like the UK, is a more informal forum for co-operation.

Mr Zelenskyy earlier met UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer, who has vowed to stand with Ukraine for “as long as it takes” and has committed to spending £3bn on aid for the country.

He said he hoped Mr Starmer's term in Downing Street would mark a "special" era in British foreign policy.

“I don’t think Britain’s position would change,” Mr Zelensky told the BBC. “But I would like for Prime Minister Starmer to become special - speaking about international politics, about defending world security, about the war in Ukraine."

He added that Ukraine “doesn’t just need a new page, we need power to turn this leaf”.

On Friday morning, President Zelensky will address a meeting of the UK cabinet in person - the first foreign leader to do so since US President Bill Clinton in 1997.

He is expected to brief ministers about the situation in Ukraine and the need to ramp up Europe’s defence industrial base.

The two leaders will also sign a £3.5bn defence export finance deal.

Ukraine’s troops have faced a tough spring and earlier this week it was confirmed that they had withdrawn from the village of Krynky on the occupied eastern bank of the Dnipro river.

In recent months, the Ukrainian army has had to try and hold back Russian troops along a very long front line in the east of the country. The city of Kharkiv and the surrounding areas have sustained continued attacks as Russian forces attempt to make gains in the region.

Ukraine had hoped that its military efforts would be boosted by the arrival of F-16 planes promised by allies this summer. But Mr Zelensky confirmed that Ukraine had yet to see them.

“It’s been 18 months and the planes have not reached us,” he said, saying that he was thankful for what Ukraine had been given.

But he emphasised that new fighters were essential to help Ukrainians push back against Russia's aerial dominance and “unblock the skies”.

With the war continuing for more than two years without an end in sight, questions have been raised as to whether there could be a negotiated solution.

Last month, Switzerland hosted a Ukraine peace summit but Russia was not invited. Mr Zelensky has since said that Russia should attend a second peace summit penned for November.

He told the BBC that the whole world will need to put pressure on Russia in order to persuade it to sit down and consider ending the war.

“It doesn’t mean that all territories are won back by force. I think the power of diplomacy can help,” he said, adding that a weaker Russia on the battlefield would put Ukraine in a stronger position on the negotiating table.

“By putting pressure on Russia, I think it is possible to agree to a diplomatic settlement.”

Mr Zelensky has been Ukraine’s leader since 2019 and throughout Russia's full-scale invasion. While elections were due this year, Ukraine’s constitution rules out a ballot during the time of martial law.The president told the BBC that he did envisage a time when he would step down as president.

“But not until the war is over," he said.

IEPF issued a statement regarding Azerbaijani children at the UN Human Rights Council

News line

Russia accuses Ukrainian military chief of ordering downing of war prisoner plane
22:10 05.07.2025
Türkiye supports firefighting operations in Syria’s Latakia
22:00 05.07.2025
UNRWA calls for immediate fuel delivery to Israel-blockaded Gaza before shutdown of basic services
21:45 05.07.2025
Pashinyan: Armenia needs new constitution
21:20 05.07.2025
UN chief condemns Russia's recent 'series of large-scale' attacks on Ukraine
21:00 05.07.2025
Kazakh servicemen arrive in Azerbaijan to participate in Tarlan - 2025 exercise
20:45 05.07.2025
Erdogan: US has crucial role in achieving ceasefire in Gaza
20:20 05.07.2025
Building collapse in Pakistan kills 15
19:45 05.07.2025
Turkish FM Fidan to attend 17th BRICS Leaders Summit in Rio de Janeiro
19:30 05.07.2025
Australia pledges $283M for green energy project by explosives maker
19:10 05.07.2025
OPEC+ speeds up oil output hikes, adds 548,000 bpd in August
18:45 05.07.2025
Inter completes signing of Ange-Yoan Bonny from Parma
18:20 05.07.2025
Turkish president sees Zangazur corridor 'as part of the geoeconomic revolution'
18:00 05.07.2025
Turkish president urges Azerbaijan, Russia to show restrain amid tension
17:45 05.07.2025
China says war 'not a solution' to Iranian nuclear issue
17:15 05.07.2025
At least 18 people injured after fire alert on Ryanair plane in Majorca as passengers abandon jet & leap from wing
17:00 05.07.2025
Azerbaijani PM meets with UNESCAP executive secretary
16:45 05.07.2025
Lebanese president affirms coordination with Syria, warns against sectarian tensions
16:15 05.07.2025
21 killed in Israeli strikes on tents, school-turned-shelters in Gaza Strip
16:00 05.07.2025
Turkish construction sector takes on international projects worth $6.2B in first half of 2025
15:45 05.07.2025
Azerbaijani woman wrestler becomes European champion
15:30 05.07.2025
Mayor: Death toll in Russian attacks on Kyiv reached two
15:15 05.07.2025
Texas floods kill 24 people and leave many missing from girls' summer camp
14:45 05.07.2025
Conor McGregor has interest in White House fight after Trump's UFC idea
14:30 05.07.2025
Netanyahu era sees 40% surge in Israeli settlements in occupied West Bank
14:15 05.07.2025
Equatorial Guinea sues France in UN court to block sale of Paris mansion
14:00 05.07.2025
US president 'disappointed' over phone call with Putin
13:45 05.07.2025
Academy of Azerbaijan`s State Security Service hosts graduation ceremony
13:30 05.07.2025
Azerbaijan and Pakistan ink memo in Khankendi
13:15 05.07.2025
Trump says there could be Gaza deal next week
13:00 05.07.2025
First flight from Türkiye to Syria launched
12:45 05.07.2025
US marks its 249th anniversary of independence
12:30 05.07.2025
Azerbaijan's role in regional integration discussed at London conference
12:00 05.07.2025
Uzbek Minister: Mirziyoyev's visit to Azerbaijan crucial for dev’t of transport links
11:45 05.07.2025
Trump says US will start talks with China on TikTok deal this week
11:30 05.07.2025
Prime Minister of Pakistan Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif concludes visit to Azerbaijan
11:15 05.07.2025
Pakistani premier proposes low-emissions corridor at Economic Cooperation Organization summit
11:00 05.07.2025
Rwanda pledges to deliver on its part of US-brokered peace deal with DR Congo
10:45 05.07.2025
Hezbollah rejects calls to disarm before end of Israeli ‘aggression’ against Lebanon
10:30 05.07.2025
Trump says Gaza ceasefire deal may come next week after ‘positive’ Hamas response
10:15 05.07.2025
Hamısı