Zelensky says he had ‘productive’ conversation with Trump

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said in a speech in Budapest on Thursday that he had a productive conversation with President-elect Trump after Tuesday's election win and expressed optimism in his leadership.

"It was a productive conversation, a good conversation," Zelensky said of his phone call with Trump on Wednesday. "Of course, we cannot yet know what his actions will be. But we do hope that America will become stronger.

"This is the kind of America that Europe needs. And a strong Europe is what America needs, to my mind," he continued. "This is the connection between allies that must be valued and cannot be lost."

Zelensky had quickly congratulated Trump on his victory over Vice President Harris in the early morning hours Wednesday after the Republican nominee secured enough Electoral College votes to win the presidency. He personally called him later Wednesday.

Zelensky, in his congratulatory message to Trump, said he appreciated the president-elect's approach of peace through strength and expressed confidence in working closely together on the war.

The Ukrainian president also said he had a "great" meeting with Trump in September, when the two met in New York. At the time, Trump told the press that he would use his connections to both Zelensky and Russian President Vladimir Putin to end the war.

Zelensky, who traveled Thursday to Hungary for the European Political Community Summit, also underscored in his speech that Russia was escalating the war by bringing some 10,000 North Korean troops into the Kursk region to fight against Ukrainian forces.

Zelensky scolded European leaders for seeking to pressure Ukraine into making concessions in the war against Russia in return for peace. Zelensky did not name Trump in the comments, even though the president-elect has pledged to end the war in Ukraine by the time he enters office on Jan. 20.

"There should be no illusion that by showing weakness or selling out some European positions or any European country's standing, one can buy just peace," Zelensky said in Budapest.

"It simply doesn't work that way. Peace is the reward only for those strong. Thus, there is no alternative to a strong Europe. And unity is essential, of course, for strength."

Trump's victory has spurred concerns that his plan to end the war would include giving up territory in eastern Ukraine seized by Russian forces since the 2022 invasion.

In Budapest, Zelensky said he was "open to any constructive ideas to achieve a just peace for our country."

"But it is up to Ukraine to decide what should and should not be on the agenda for ending this war," he said.