Trump says he wants a “fair deal” between Ukraine and Russia

During his meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, former President Donald Trump praised a “very good relationship” with Russian President Vladimir Putin and promised to negotiate a “fair deal” for both sides.

“As you know, I also have a very good relationship with President Putin,” Trump said before his meeting with Zelensky on Friday in Trump Tower. “And I think if we win, I think we’ll solve the problem very quickly.”

Zelensky quickly replied: “I really believe we will have better relations.”

Trump responded: “You know, it takes two to tango, you know, and we will. We will have a good meeting today.”

On the campaign trail, Trump has often boasted that he could stop the war in Ukraine, although he has not yet given specifics on how he might do so, and has often shown a willingness to work with both sides.

“The president wants it to stop and I'm sure President Putin wants it to stop, and that's a good combination. “That’s why we want to have a fair deal for everyone,” Trump said in a joint interview with Fox News on Friday.

However, when asked what a “fair” deal would look like, Trump replied: “It's too early to say.”

Ahead of Friday's meeting, Trump and Zelensky publicly criticized each other as Trump has scrutinized U.S. funding of the war in Ukraine and at times suggested he felt resistance to providing more aid to the country.

“Every time Zelensky comes to the United States, he goes home with $100 billion. I think he's the greatest salesman in the world,” Trump said at a campaign rally on Tuesday in Savannah, Georgia.

“I feel like Trump doesn’t really know how to stop the war, even though he might think he does,” Zelensky said in an interview with The New Yorker. “The deeper you look at this war, the less you understand. I've seen many leaders who were convinced they knew how to end it tomorrow, and as they got deeper into it, they realized it wasn't that easy.”

This week, Trump joked that Zelensky made “little nasty comments” to him.

Despite the public criticism, the fact that the meeting took place underscores the importance of Ukraine's good relations with both political parties as their country's fate becomes increasingly entangled in U.S. politics.

During their brief public interactions, Zelensky attempted to refute some of the language Trump used about the war in Ukraine.

In a short interview with Fox News, Zelensky emphasized the Russian invasion of Ukrainian soil.

“We must do everything we can to pressure him to end this war, and he is on our territory. The most important thing is to understand that he is on our territory,” Zelensky said.

In recent days, Trump and his running mate, Sen. JD Vance, have left the door open to Ukraine potentially ceding land to Russia in negotiations to end the war.

Asked by ABC News' Rachel Scott on Thursday whether Ukraine should cede some of its land to Russia to end the war, as his vice president had suggested, Trump said: “We'll see what happens.”

During a phone call with reporters, Vance was asked whether he thought Ukraine should cede land in exchange for an end to the war, and offered similar candor. “Everything will be on the table,” Vance said. “I think nothing will definitely be on the table. That's why you have negotiations, especially with a man as capable as Donald Trump, because you're actually trying to have a conversation between both parties and other interested parties about how to do that.” “End this war,” he added .

Vice President Kamala Harris met with Zelensky on Thursday, where she alluded to those Republican comments.

“But in all honesty, I tell you, Mr. President, that there are some in my country who would instead force Ukraine to give up large parts of its sovereign territory, who would demand that Ukraine accept its neutrality and demand that Ukraine “We would like to forego security relationships with other nations,” Harris said.