Zelensky: "And now I'm famous in America. But not the way I wanted!"

[Dennis Donovan]

https://medium.com/@ChrisMurphyCT/behind-the-scenes-of-my-trip-to-ukraine-and-munich-c1398a06ff0b

Behind the Scenes of My Trip to Ukraine and Munich

Senator Chris Murphy

Feb 18 · 10 min read

I just got back from a return trip to visit President Zelensky in Ukraine and a stop at the important Munich Security Conference in Germany. As is my habit, on the long plane ride home I wrote a candid, behind-the-scenes summary of my trip. I find that these journals help me digest my thoughts about these foreign trips, but it’s also a helpful way for you to see what really happens on these congressional delegation trips, and why they are so critical to U.S. foreign policy. As usual, this summary is long, but I hope you’ll find it worth your time.

<snip>

After a half-hour meeting, we made the short walk to the presidential palace. Zelensky is impressive. A first-time politician who made his name as a TV star in Ukraine, he is pushing hard for reform. He has passed a number of bills into law taking on corruption, and Trump’s undermining of Zelensky, just at the moment when Zelensky was beginning to make progress on cleaning up the country, was devastating.

But on this day, Zelensky has a new beef with the United States, and he doesn’t waste any time expressing it. Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, a U.S.-funded news outlet in Europe, Asia and the Middle East, aired a story reporting that Zelensky had secretly met with a Russian official during his recent trip to the Middle East. He says this is not true, and he worried that since the outlet is funded by the U.S. government, there will be an impression that the U.S. government is trying to find another way to undermine his government.

His complaint is a sign of how fragile our relationship with Ukraine is, and how even the smallest slights now can do so much damage to Zelensky’s need to show that, post-impeachment, he has U.S. support again. We promise him we will look into the matter. “If it matters to you,” I tell him, “then it matters to us.” He seems pleased with our response.

I have two more objectives for the meeting before we leave. First, I want to get his suggestions for how the U.S. can step up aid and support for Ukraine. I believe there is an opportunity to build support in Congress for a new aid package for Ukraine, and I want to make sure it reflects what Zelensky really needs. He calmly ticks off a short list of investments that he cannot afford in the middle of a war with Russia that the U.S. could help with.

Then, I turn to the touchier subject. “Mr. President, your instinct has always been right, to stay out of American politics. You’ve always understood the damage that could have been done if you got involved in our presidential election. But there are reports that Mayor Giuliani isn’t done trying to dig up dirt on Trump’s opponents — he was here in Ukraine in December, we understand — and I just want to ask you directly if you are still feeling pressure to help with his investigations?”

Zelensky clearly doesn’t really want to talk about this, and I don’t blame him. But he tells us that, though Giuliani has long wanted a meeting with him, he has always stayed clear of Giuliani and intends to keep it that way. He has no intention of getting involved in American politics any more than he already has, unintentionally. “As an actor, I always dreamed of becoming famous in America,” he tells us, breaking away from Ukrainian and speaking to us in English. “And now I’m famous in America. But not the way I wanted!”

</snip>

Admins, since this is written by a sitting US Senator, I don't believe there is a copyright issue. However, if there is, I'll trim it.

[Dennis Donovan]

1. Kick - this is kinda big...

[Hermit-The-Prog]

2. This is just one more example of the damage that orange thing has done to US.