Zelensky calls for probe into leaked Biden-Poroshenko calls
Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky has called for an investigation into the leaked audio recordings between Joe Biden and former Ukraine President Petro Poroshenko.
At a press conference in Kiev, Zelensky said the conversations between the two leaders “might be perceived, qualified as high treason,” the Washington Post reported.
“As to Poroshenko and Biden, yes, I have heard, I will comment,” Zelensky said on Wednesday. “I think it’s not the last sign that Ukrainians will see. The prosecutors, law enforcement bodies should react. The prosecutor general of Ukraine registered criminal proceedings at the request of deputy [Andriy] Derkach yesterday. They will investigate.”
Recordings of portions of private calls between the then-vice president and Poroshenko were released this week in which Biden discusses exchanging $1 billion in aid to Ukraine once its prosecutor general, Viktor Shokin, is replaced.
Critics claim the calls show a quid pro quo — though Biden has publicly discussed the arrangement in the past.
The tapes were released Monday by Ukrainian lawmaker Andriy Derkach, a former member of the pro-Russia Party of Regions who claims he received them from “investigative journalists.”
https://nypost.com/2020/05/21/zelensky-calls-for-probe-into-leaked-biden-poroshenko-calls/