'I Don’t Trust Anyone at All.' Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky Speaks Out on Trump, Putin and a Divided Europe

BY SIMON SHUSTER / KYIV

DECEMBER 2, 2019

"…During the interview in his office in Kyiv, the comedian-turned-president denied, as he has done in the past, that he and Trump ever discussed a decision to withhold American aid to Ukraine for nearly two months in the context of a quid pro quo involving political favors, which are now at the center of the impeachment inquiry in Congress….

But he also pushed back on Trump’s recent claims about corruption in Ukraine, and questioned the fairness of Trump’s decision to freeze American aid. “If you’re our strategic partner, then you can’t go blocking anything for us,” he said. “I think that’s just about fairness. It’s not about a quid pro quo.”…

What follows is a partial transcript of the hourlong interview, which was conducted jointly by TIME, Le Monde of France, Der Spiegel of Germany and Gazeta Wyborcza of Poland. It has been condensed and edited for clarity by TIME."

https://time.com/5742108/ukraine-zelensky-interview-trump-putin-europe/