Zelensky says he will discuss buying US weapons with Trump
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Austrian President Alexander Van der Bellen (left) and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky reviewing the Guard of Honour, in Vienna, Austria, on June 16.
PHOTO: REUTERS
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VIENNA – Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on June 16 that he will discuss buying US weapons with US President Donald Trump at the Group of Seven (G-7) summit, but added that US military aid was not on the agenda.
“We are not talking to America today about new assistance. Indeed, one of the issues I will discuss with President Trump at the meeting is the defence package that Ukraine is ready to buy,” Mr Zelensky said during a visit to Vienna, from where he was to travel to Canada for this week’s G-7 summit
Mr Zelensky, who has overseen his country’s fightback against Russian forces for more than three years, said: “I can’t imagine, and I don’t want to imagine... how to live without and fight without the help of the United States”.
He added: “I think we all have to work to make sure that the alliance between America and Europe doesn’t fall apart.”
Mr Zelensky also said that he viewed the G-7 summit as a “very important” opportunity to see “what kind of pressure we can all exert to stop (Russian President Vladimir) Putin, so that he stops the fire, stops the war”.
He said that “we will discuss frozen Russian assets with the leaders, and we will also discuss sanctions”.
Mr Zelensky spoke alongside Austrian President Alexander Van der Bellen as he made his brief Vienna stopover.
In a statement, Mr Zelensky’s office said that he and Mr Van der Bellen spoke about an eventual Austrian contribution to Ukraine’s post-war reconstruction, including clearing landmines, energy cooperation and food security.
Mr Van der Bellen noted that while his country remained militarily neutral, “it is not so politically”.
Austria had good relations with Russia before the invasion of Ukraine, but while it still has some economic links, those ties have notably deteriorated over the past three years.
Austria’s far-right opposition Freedom Party of Austria, which is polling first in voter surveys, criticised Mr Zelensky’s visit. AFP
