- Title: Zelenskiy says he will not send his aide to testify in the U.S.
- Date: 10th October 2019
- Summary: KIEV, UKRAINE (OCTOBER 10, 2019) (REUTERS) VARIOUS OF UKRAINIAN PRESIDENT VOLODYMYR ZELENSKIY AND JOURNALISTS EATING PIZZA AND TALKING (SOUNDBITE) (Ukrainian) UKRAINIAN PRESIDENT, VOLODYMYR ZELENSKIY, ASKED ABOUT PARNAS, UKRAINIAN-BORN BUSINESSMAN, AND FRUMAN, A REAL ESTATE INVESTOR ORIGINALLY FROM BELARUS WHO WERE ARRESTED TODAY IN U.S., SAYING (WHILE EATING PIZZA): "Well, they were arrested. This is a big world with a lot of problems." ZELENSKIY, JOURNALISTS EATING PIZZA, JOURNALIST HEARD OFF CAMERA SAYING (Russian) "That's a tasty pizza, I hope it does not have polonium in it.", ZELENSKIY SAYING "No", SMILING SECURITY AT FOOD COURT (SOUNDBITE) (Ukrainian/English) UKRAINIAN PRESIDENT, VOLODYMYR ZELENSKIY, SAYING: "I didn't break any law in Ukraine. I didn't break any international law. I don't understand what I do have to testify in another country? And why I have to be used, my testimonies used to influence future elections. And I'm not sure I would tell my aide (Andriy Yermak) to testify there (in the United States). Well, I can dismiss my aid, or anybody from my team if they want to testify, and then I won't have any responsibility for them in this case. If they want, (CONTINUES IN ENGLISH) why not? Please. We are too democratic, and we are very open." FOOD COURT VIEW / ZELENSKIY AND JOURNALISTS VARIOUS OF PEOPLE AT FOOD COURT ZELENSKIY AND JOURNALISTS
- Embargoed: 24th October 2019 20:30
- Keywords: Zelenskiy phone talk USA Ukraine Trump Ukraine Biden Hunter Biden
- Location: KIEV, UKRAINE
- City: KIEV, UKRAINE
- Country: Ukraine
- Topics: Diplomacy/Foreign Policy,Government/Politics
- Reuters ID: LVA001B0IODHJ
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text:- Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said on Thursday (October 10) that he was not sure he would tell his aide Andriy Yermak to testify in the United States regarding the impeachment inquiry.
Yermak, a top adviser to Ukrainian President, travelled to Madrid to meet Rudy Giuliani, President Donald Trump's personal attorney, a few days after a July 25 phone call in which Trump pressed Zelenskiy to investigate Vice President Joe Biden.
Two foreign-born Florida businessmen who have been helping President Donald Trump's personal lawyer investigate political rival Joe Biden have been arrested on charges of funnelling foreign money to U.S. political candidates and a pro-Trump election committee, authorities said on Thursday (October 10).
The arrests were the latest dramatic development in a political saga that threatens Trump's presidency. They come as the Democratic-led U.S. House of Representatives conducts an impeachment inquiry into Trump centered on the Republican president's request in a July telephone call for Ukraine's president to investigate Biden.
The businessmen, Lev Parnas and Igor Fruman, were arrested in connection with a New York federal case involving campaign finance laws, the U.S. Attorney's Office in Manhattan said. The two men were donors to a pro-Trump fundraising committee and the president's personal lawyer, Rudy Giuliani, has said they helped him as he sought to investigate former Vice President Biden, a leading Democratic contender in the 2020 presidential election.
Parnas is a Ukrainian businessman. Fruman is a real estate investor who was born in Belarus. Both, according to various media accounts, helped introduce Giuliani into top Ukrainian political circles.
(Production: Sergiy Karazy, Dmitry Turlyun) - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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