Hostility between Trump, Zelensky simmering since 2019 impeachment

Trump had asked Zelensky in a July 2019 phone call to investigate former President Joe Biden, who was the Democratic Party front-runner against him in the 2020 election, and his son Hunter for possible corruption. He had withheld about $400 million in aid to Ukraine in the days before the call, although he released it later

New York: Before it erupted volcanically at their Oval Office meeting, the hostility between Presidents Donald Trump of the US and Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine had been simmering since at least 2019 when Trump faced his first impeachment.

Trump had asked Zelensky in a July 2019 phone call to investigate former President Joe Biden, who was the Democratic Party front-runner against him in the 2020 election, and his son Hunter for possible corruption. He had withheld about $400 million in aid to Ukraine in the days before the call, although he released it later.

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Trump’s allegations centred on Hunter Biden, who had no experience in the energy field, becoming a director of a Ukrainian gas company, Burisma, while his father as Vice-President was dealing with Ukraine.

He also alleged that Biden had gotten a prosecutor investigating Burisma fired. Democrats, backed by a whistleblower’s claims, accused Trump of abusing his office by demanding inquiries in return for releasing the aid and trying to induce foreign interference in US elections.

Trump went through a bruising impeachment trial that produced an indictment against him, but he was ultimately acquitted in the Senate trial that followed. Trump lost the 2020 US presidential election that followed. Zelensky was put in a tight spot, trying desperately to avoid being drawn into the controversy on either side.

Trump was peeved that he did not strongly disclaim the accusations that he had been pressured or that there was quid pro quo. After Biden became President, Zelensky forged close ties with him, and the US leader backed Ukraine with aid and robust international political support. Biden shut out Russia and isolated it internationally, hurting it with economic sanctions.

Republicans accused Zelensky of throwing his lot with Biden during last year’s election, notably with a highly publicised visit to an ammunition factory in Biden’s hometown of Scranton in the hotly contested swing state of Pennsylvania. The mistrust between Trump and Zelensky further deepened.

The aid to Ukraine and the opposition to Russia had bipartisan consensus, but Trump began questioning Kyiv’s capacity to hold on despite the US backing, creating a rift in the political arena and Republicans following him or staying muted. It got worse when Trump reached out directly to Russia’s President Vladimir Putin to find a solution to the war.

Meanwhile, their anger spilled into the open last month when Zelensky accused Trump of “living in a world of disinformation” — a subtle hint at Moscow’s propaganda after Trump had said Zelensky started the war with Russia. And Trump called him a “dictator”.

In a sign of the changed scenario, the US joined Russia at the UN General Assembly to vote against a resolution proposed by Ukraine condemning Moscow’s invasion. Senior diplomats from the US and Russia met in Riyadh last week to find a way to end the war, leaving out Ukraine.

As it appeared that Russia and the US were going to make a deal over ending the war and the future of Ukraine, Zelensky protested and declared his country would never accept an agreement that it was not a part of. That infuriated Trump, while European leaders like France’s President Emmanuel Macron and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer tried to act as bridges, but with little success.

Trust is at the heart of their confrontation, both between them and Russia’s President Vladimir Putin. Zelensky, having been burned several times, totally mistrusts Putin and fears he will go back on any peace agreement. Despite the mistrust of Putin among many of his Western allies, Trump said he trusts him. But added on Thursday, “You know, look, it’s, trust and verify, let’s call it that.” That hasn’t helped bridge the trust gap.