Zelensky Responded to Rumors of Tense Meeting with von der Leyen – Suspicion

Zelensky denied tension at talks with von der Leyen

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The president stated that the talks were “absolutely positive”

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky denied media reports of a supposedly tense meeting with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen in New York. According to him, the negotiations were prepped in advance and went “very positively,” according to Glavkom citing Ukrinform.

The Bloomberg outlet had reported that Zelensky's meeting with von der Leyen in New York was supposedly tense. The president, however, emphasized that he does not consider the conversation with von der Leyen to be difficult. “The meeting was, by the way, absolutely positive. I don’t know where such a message came from. I would even say it was a very positive meeting,” he added.

The head of state explained that even before the meeting he had a phone conversation with von der Leyen, during which the parties discussed some issues. “I had not difficult negotiations with Ursula von der Leyen, because they were prepared. We spoke by phone before this, we discussed some questions,” Zelensky said.

One of the main topics was the lack of funding for Ukraine, in particular due to the rising cost of the war. The sides also discussed tying part of European funding to the adoption by the Verkhovna Rada of the necessary laws. Zelensky stressed that due to the war the Ukrainian parliament cannot operate as in peacetime.

Ukraine also plans to send a financial team for separate negotiations on the possibility of obtaining part of the funds from the second tranche earlier. “We agreed they will sit down and think about how to close part of the funds from the second tranche, bring the money closer, because we need money for drones,” Zelensky said.

As a reminder, earlier European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen proposed creating a new European Security Council, with Ukraine to be a participant. The new format is to unite EU leaders and partners who play an important role in European security. Among potential participants von der Leyen named Ukraine, the United Kingdom, Canada, and Norway.