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Ukrainian President Says 'No Blackmail' in Trump Call

VOANews

   Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said Thursday there was "no
   blackmail" in his July phone call with U.S. President Donald Trump that
   is now at the center of an impeachment inquiry by the Democrat-led U.S.
   House of Representatives.

   Zelenskiy told reporters he was unaware at the time of the call that
   Trump had moved to withhold hundreds of millions of dollars in military
   aid to Ukraine.

   "I had no idea the military aid was held up. When I did find out, I
   raised it with [Vice President Mike] Pence at a meeting in Warsaw," he
   said.

   Trump says he made that decision to push Ukraine to tackle corruption.
   Democrats accuse the U.S. leader of freezing the aid to pressure
   Zelenskiy's administration into investigating Democratic presidential
   candidate Joe Biden and his son, Hunter.

   Zelenskiy said Thursday his goal in the call was to arrange a future
   meeting with Trump and to get him to change his public rhetoric about
   Ukraine being a corrupt country. The Ukrainian leader said the U.S.
   side did not set any conditions for a meeting.

   According to a whistleblower complaint, and a transcript of the call
   released by the White House, Trump urged Zelenskiy to open an
   investigation into Biden.

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