Zelensky says no one had right to make his conversation with Trump public

He said this in an interview with Axios, which was broadcast on the HBO television channel.

Zelensky said the main thing he read when his name appeared in different media outlets was that Trump put pressure on him.

"I was very offended to hear this. Why? Because I'm the President of Ukraine. We may be smaller than the United States, but we are an independent Ukraine. We proved this to Russia when we kept our territory. We continue to prove that we're an independent country. This is why he did not pressure me. I will never say that," Zelensky said.

"There was only one unpleasant thing. Until now, I have not spoken of this. The publishing of our conversation. I think this is very wrong. And it was not Ukraine who made it public. I would never let that happen. I think no matter what we talked about, this conversation was the first serious conversation between two presidents, between strategic partners. And in any case, neither of us has the right to make such things public," he said.

The journalist also asked Zelensky: "I see you are angry with President Trump. Maybe a little bit?"

"A little bit?" Zelensky answered laughingly.

On September 25, 2019, the White House released the transcript of a phone call between the U.S. and Ukrainian presidents, which led to the launch of impeachment proceedings against Trump. The transcript of the conversation shows that Trump pressured Zelensky to persuade Ukraine to conduct an investigation against the son of former Vice President Joe Biden.

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