Controversial phone call is “private and confidential,” Zelensky says

The July 25 telephone call with U.S. President Trump
is “private and confidential,” Ukrainian President Zelensky told the CNN
television network on Sept. 24 at the UN General Assembly in New York, as
reported by the eurointegration.com.ua news site. Zelensky declined to comment
on whether he ties the delay in U.S. military aid to Trump’s demands to
investigate the dealings of U.S. Vice President Joe Biden. When asked whether
he wants the transcript of the July 25 telephone call to be published, Zelensky
reportedly responded, “We’ll see.”

Zelensky’s statement didn’t affirm the claim made by
U.S. President Trump that day that U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo gained
permission from the Zelensky administration to release the transcript of the
July 25 phone call. Moreover, Trump tweeted on Sept. 24, “I am currently at the
United Nations representing our Country, but have authorized the release
tomorrow of the complete, fully declassified and unredacted transcript of my
phone conversation with President Zelensky of Ukraine.”

When questioned by Russian television reporters at the
UN General Assembly on Sept. 24, Zelensky insisted he wasn’t pressured by U.S.
President Trump during their July 25 phone call. “No one can pressure me
because I am the president of an independent country,” Zelensky said, as
broadcast on Russian television. “By the way, only one person can pressure
me. I can only be pressured by my son, who is six years old.”