Trump Had Negative View Of Ukraine Even After Zelenskyy Election - Ex-US Envoy Volker

WASHINGTON (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 20th November, 2019) President Donald Trump accused Ukraine of being corrupt even after Volodymyr Zelenskyy won Presidential election on a reform platform, former US Special Representative for Ukraine Negotiations Kurt Volker said in congressional testimony.

Grilled at the US House Intelligence Committee impeachment, Volker described a conversation he had with Trump at the White House on May 23.

"The President came into the meeting and immediately started speaking. He had a string of comments that Ukraine is a terrible place, they are all corrupt, they are terrible people, they try to take me down," he testified on Tuesday.

Volker, according to his own account, tried to persuade Trump that Zelenskyy was eager to pursue reforms and therefore needed a solid American backing.

"But the President was not convinced and he said that Zelenskyy is no different, that he has terrible people around him... I hear that nothing has changed," Volker said and noted that Trump said to talk to the president's personal attorney Rudy Giuliani.

When asked, Volker clarified that Trump had been apparently referring to rumors of Ukrainians' efforts to interfere in the 2016 US election by providing damaging information to his key rival Hillary Clinton's campaign.

"He was concerned about it. I don't know what he actually believed. He brought it up," he said.

Volker said that a 55-day delay of the US aid to the Ukraine had not initially struck him as something uncommon but later he started to suspect that it could be related to Trump's doubts in Zelenskyy.

"It's something that had happened in my career in the past. I had seen hold-ups of assistance. I just assumed it was part of a decision-making process - somebody had an objection, we had to overcome to it," he said.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi last week accused Trump of committing bribery in a July 25 telephone conversation with Zelenskyy by requesting an investigation of former Vice President Joe Biden and his son, Hunter. At the time, the US withheld nearly $400 million in military aid to Ukraine. Republicans argue that there was no quid pro quo or bribery, because Ukraine never launched the requested Biden investigation and the money was released.

Volker said that it had happened after Zelenskyy managed to convene the Ukrainian Parliament for a 24-hour marathon session, seen in Washington as a testament to his ability to deliver on election pledges.