U.S. President Donald Trump has explained that during a telephone conversation with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on July 25, he talked about a probe into the case of a company related to former U.S. Vice President Joe Biden’s son, Hunter Biden, in the context of Zelensky’s promise to fight against corruption in Ukraine.
“I want him to do whatever he can. This was not his fault; he wasn’t there. He’s just been here recently. But whatever he can do in terms of corruption, because the corruption is massive. Now, when Biden’s son walks away with millions of dollars from Ukraine, and he knows nothing, and they’re paying him millions of dollars, that’s corruption. When Biden’s son walks out of China with $1.5 billion in a fund. <…> I think that’s a horrible thing. I think it’s a horrible thing,” he said during a bilateral meeting with Zelensky in New York City on Wednesday, September 25.
“I know the President, and I’ve read a lot about Ukraine. I’ve read a lot about a lot of countries. He wants to stop corruption. He was elected – I think, number one – on the basis of stopping corruption, which unfortunately has plagued Ukraine. And if he could do that, he’s doing, really, the whole world a big favor. I know – and I think he’s going to be successful,” Trump emphasized.
The U.S. president also spoke about the need to fight corruption in response to Zelensky’s call to invest in Ukraine.
Zelensky told Trump about the large number of laws currently being adopted by the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine, which are aimed at reforming the law enforcement system to combat corruption and the economy.
Then, in a conversation with the media, Trump, recalling the scandal with deleted emails of ex-head of the Department of State and former U.S. presidential candidate Hillary Clinton and addressing Zelensky, said: “We have corruption also, Mr. President. We have a lot of corruption in our government.”
