American Journalist Puts Zelensky Through a Grilling Over Call With Trump

The Ukrainian president says he did not feel any pressure or influence from the US president.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said that, for his part, he sees no corruption in the phone call with US President Donald Trump, and that he will not comment on the words and actions of the American leader, as this would be interference in US domestic politics.

The head of state said about this during a press marathon in Kyiv on Thursday, October 10, while answering questions from an American journalist.

Journalist: When you spoke on the phone with US President Donald Trump in July, you said: "The new Prosecutor General of Ukraine will be 100% my man." Trump asked for an investigation into Joe Biden. Is that true?

Volodymyr Zelensky: It's all a matter of translation. I did not speak English, I spoke Ukrainian. I said: a new team is coming now; the new team is a young team; we will have a new prosecutor general, a new person. That he will be honest and my man. What did I mean when I said he would be 100% my man? That this is a person from my team, the new team. Not from the old prosecutors general. A 100% honest person.

It is not only about Burisma, not only about Biden. We have many relations with many countries and many criminal problems.

- Did you say that because President Trump asked you to do so?

- What did he ask?

- To reexamine the Burisma case with the new prosecutor.

- I said that I am ready to look into this story, this case. Invite your prosecutor general, connect with ours, but only in accordance with legislation and international relations. I am not against it. We do not want to bury any cases. We are open.

- You are against corruption, right?

- Yes, I am against corruption.

- So, you are against corruption. Curious, what do you think: if the president of another country asks you to investigate a case against his political opponent, is that corruption?

- My opinion: there was no corruption in our matter. It was simply a call; we talked about various corruption matters, including this case with Burisma. I do not remember all of Trump's words, because the conversation was too long... But I said that we are not corrupt. We are open (to investigating, — ed.) any criminal case, if it is in accordance with the law.

A question for you: did I ask him any corrupt question?

- So do you consider it corruption if a president asks the president of another country to investigate a case against his political rival?

- I believe I did not violate the law, first of all Ukraine's. I want what Mr. Trump said to be commented on by US legislation, not by me. Because if I, as the president of Ukraine, were to comment on Mr. Trump's conversation according to legislation, that would be interference in your legislative system, it would be interference in your future elections, meaning it would be interference in your electoral process, which would become impure and not independent because of me.

- So you think there was corruption in Trump's request?

- I should not assess the actions of another president, whose actions are regulated by the legislation of another independent country. I did not feel any pressure or influence on myself.

- You do not want to assess Trump's actions?

- I will not give you the opportunity to change my position, which I have taken for myself as frank and clean. And it is truthful. I do not want to comment on the legality of the actions of the president of any other country.

Earlier during the press marathon, Zelensky said that, to end the war in Donbas, it is necessary, among other things, to hold a bilateral meeting between the presidents of Russia and Ukraine.

He also said that he wants to be a strong president and called on people not to weaken his position as head of state with protests, in particular against the "Steinmeier formula."

On the issue of nationalizing PrivatBank and its potential cancellation, Zelensky promised to defend exclusively the interests of Ukraine and does not intend to influence the courts.  

In September, the House Intelligence Committee published the text of a complaint from an unnamed US intelligence officer, after which Congress launched the procedure of impeachment of President Donald Trump. The author of the complaint believed that Trump, in the phone call, pressured Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky for personal purposes, insisting on resuming the investigation into the activities of Hunter Biden and his father, former US Vice President and likely Trump rival in the 2020 presidential election, Joe Biden.

Trump called this a "presidential harassment" and demanded the handover of whoever "leaked" his conversation with Zelensky. 

On September 25, the White House published a transcript of the phone call between Trump and Zelensky.