Zelenskyy on his relationship with Trump: «Perhaps he sees me as a son, but not his favourite one»

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that he cannot call his American counterpart Donald Trump a friend, unlike the French leader.

Volodymyr Zelenskyy made these remarks in an interview with France Inter radio, reports hromadske.

The Ukrainian president was asked whether he could call the US president a ‘friend’. He explained that there are specific relationships between the leaders of the two countries.

For example, Volodymyr Zelenskyy calls French President Emmanuel Macron a friend, explaining that they have been through a lot together during difficult times.

«He is my friend because we are going through this time together, you know. We solve problems and help one another at various difficult moments. My first visit was to France. We met many years ago. Our people are close. And I believe that thanks to the fact that we have such a relationship, France and Ukraine as a whole [have] become closer than they were before our friendship with Emmanuel,» said Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

He added that with US President Donald Trump, «it’s a bit more complicated».

«Perhaps because he is older. Perhaps because he wants to treat me like a son and expects me to treat him like a father. But he already has children, and I have parents,» said Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

He joked that he would probably not be Trump’s «favourite son».

According to Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Donald Trump enjoys communicating with him: «He may not particularly like some of my sharp remarks and actions. But I am the president; I defend my country’s interests».

As a reminder, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy stated that a year ago he had «cards» up his sleeve in the political standoff, but did not play them publicly. Now, he said, the results of this work have become evident.