Trump lightened talks with Zelenskyy by calling former Miss Ukraine – NYT

US President Donald Trump unexpectedly called former Miss Ukraine Oleksandra Nikolaienko during talks with President Volodymyr Zelenskyy at the White House in August and arranged a conversation between them.

Source: The New York Times, as reported by European Pravda

Details: As sources told The New York Times, the conversation took place after Zelenskyy arrived in Washington on 18 August together with several European leaders, following a meeting between Trump and Kremlin ruler Vladimir Putin in Alaska, in an effort to persuade the US president of the dangers of concessions to Russia.

At one point, Trump remarked to aides that when he owned the Miss Universe pageant, Ukrainian contestants were often the most beautiful, exclaiming: "Ukrainian women are beautiful." "I know, I married one," Zelenskyy replied.

Trump then explained that his longtime friend, Las Vegas magnate Phil Ruffin, is married to former Miss Ukraine Oleksandra Nikolaienko, whom Trump had met at the Miss Universe pageant. He called Ruffin, who handed the phone to his wife, while Trump passed his phone to Zelenskyy. For the next 10-15 minutes, the room fell silent as the two spoke in Ukrainian.

Quote: "'You could feel the room change,' said an official who was there. 'The temperature dropped. Everyone laughed. What it did was create a human connection. It was kind of a mind meld. It humanised Zelenskyy with Trump.'"

Details: A month later, in New York at the opening of the UN General Assembly, Trump called Zelenskyy "a great man" who was "putting up a hell of a fight".

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