President Volodymyr Zelensky on Tuesday urged US President Donald Trump, during the latter’s visit to Asia, to pressure Chinese leader Xi Jinping to cut his support for Russia when the two leaders meet.
Trump promised he would discuss the Russian invasion of Ukraine when he meets Xi on Thursday in South Korea.
“If President Trump manages to hold talks, make decisions, and reach an understanding with China to reduce imports of Russian energy, I think it will help all of us,” Zelensky said at a press conference in Kyiv on Tuesday.
Trump, currently in Japan, is scheduled to arrive in South Korea on Wednesday for bilateral summits with its president, Lee Jae Myung, and the Chinese leader Xi Jinping on the sidelines of an Asia-Pacific economic summit in the city of Gyeongju.
Trump said earlier he would be willing to extend his trip if North Korea’s Kim Jong Un wants to meet with him. “But I’d love to meet with him if he’d like to meet. I got along great with Kim Jong Un. I liked him, he liked me,” Trump told reporters on Sunday during a gaggle on Air Force One
Trump has been increasingly frustrated with Russian dictator Vladimir Putin over the past few weeks, saying over the weekend he wouldn’t “waste his time” on further negotiations with the Kremlin about peace in Ukraine until Moscow is ready to negotiate in earnest.
Last week, Trump sanctioned two of Russia’s largest oil companies and pressed top energy buyers – above all China and India – to say away from Moscow’s fuel.
“We support the US policy of exploring any opportunities to limit the supply of energy resources from Russia,” Zelensky said.
Earlier in the day, Zelensky’s press office released comments saying Ukraine will continue to rely on European financial support to continue fighting Russian forces for another two or three years.
“I emphasized this again to all European leaders. I told them that we are not going to fight for decades, but you must show that for some time you will be able to provide stable financial support to Ukraine,” he said.
“And that is why they have this program in mind –- 2-3 years,” Zelensky said, referring to Brussels’ plans to tap Russia’s frozen assets to help Kyiv.
As for sanctions, Zelensky elaborated on Tuesday that “it concerns Ukraine, European security, and the entire world because [Russia uses] the money from gas and oil to fund the war,” he added.