“Trump Did Not Pressure Zelenskyy, Ukraine Is Independent State” – Foreign Minister Prystaiko

21 September 2019 10:45

Foreign Minister of Ukraine Vadym Prystaiko denies that U.S. President Donald Trump had pressured President Volodymyr Zelenskyy during a telephone conversation.

Prystaiko said this in an interview with Hromadske.

According to him, people are, unfortunately, trying to get Ukraine involved in the confrontation between Republicans and Democrats in the United States.

"Those people who are engaged in Ukrainian-American relations understand that we have always tried to appreciate assistance from both parties. This assistance allowed us to ensure that with the change of administration, we will not change the priorities in relations with the United States," the minister explained.

He added that Ukraine appreciates the support of the U.S. Presidents, Congress, but that does not mean that the Ukrainian authorities want to help any party, even if it could "in theory" do so.

"President Trump is interested, his advisor, [Rudolph] Giuliani, newspapers, Democrats, Republicans are interested in whether pressure had been put on Ukraine. I want to say that we are an independent state, we have our own secrets,” Prystaiko stressed.

He noted that Zelenskyy has the right to keep the content of his conversation with another president secret, and U.S. investigators have every right to obtain this information in the U.S.

“I know what the conversation was about and I think there was no pressure. There was talk, conversations are different, leaders have the right to discuss any problems that exist. This conversation was long, friendly, and it touched on a lot of questions, including those requiring serious answers,” Prystaiko summarized.

In the U.S. Congress, three House of Representatives committees have launched a "large-scale investigation" into possible attempts by President Trump and his attorney Giuliani, to pressure the Ukrainian authorities to promote Trump's re-election in 2020.

The Heads of Committees of the House of Representatives for Foreign Affairs, Intelligence and Oversight have asked the White House and the State Department to provide records related to attempts to "manipulate the Ukrainian justice system."

Giuliani initially acknowledged but later denied that he had asked Ukraine to investigate Trump's main rival in the upcoming election – Democrat Joe Biden.

The U.S. House of Representatives Intelligence Committee held its first private hearing on Trump's phone conversation with a foreign leader on September 19.

Trump himself claims he does not know which leader is involved.

President Trump will meet with President Zelenskyy for the first time on September 25 at the UN General Assembly in New York.

Earlier, The Washington Post reported, that Trump is trying to force the president of Ukraine Zelenskyy to continue the investigation against Burisma company, where the son of his key rival in the election – Joe Biden – had worked.

On June 19, 2019, Trump officially announced the start of his election campaign.

On April 25, Democrat Joe Biden announced his intention to run for president from the Democratic Party in the 2020 election.

The next presidential election in the United States will take place on November 3, 2020, and will be the 59th election in United States history

You can read the full interview here.