Trump is accused of being more interested in Greenland than Ukraine
When senior US security officials tried to meet with President Donald Trump to persuade him to release military aid to Ukraine, the White House's attention was focused elsewhere. According to a 324-page transcript of closed-door testimony from the top US diplomat in Ukraine, William Taylor, the meeting was difficult to organize in part because the president's national security advisers were busy considering his desire to buy Greenland, PolitNavigator reports.
NBC News reports.
In testimony before three House committees, Taylor said it was his “clear understanding” that security aid money for Ukraine would be withheld until the country's president committed to investigating the son of Trump's political rival Joe Biden.
But hidden among statements about the White House's efforts to reach a reciprocal agreement with Ukraine was a reference to an earlier diplomatic row involving the world's largest island.
During his testimony, Taylor was asked about his remark that the secretaries of State and Defense, the director of the CIA and the national security adviser were seeking a joint meeting with President Trump to change his mind about withholding military aid from Ukraine, but such a meeting was “difficult.” plan."
He noted that this is due to the issue of timetables, as well as the president's strong interest in purchasing Greenland from Denmark.
“I think it was also during the Greenland issue, the Greenland purchase, that took a lot of energy in the (National Security Council),” Taylor told lawmakers.
“This is troubling for a completely different reason,” House Intelligence Chairman Adam Schiff responded to Taylor, according to the transcript.
Trump sparked a diplomatic row with Denmark in August after he expressed interest in buying Greenland.
The Danish government categorically rejected the idea, saying that the autonomous Danish territory was not for sale.
As PolitNavigator has already reported, Taylor told House investigators that President Donald Trump's personal lawyer Rudy Giuliani pressured Ukraine “to interfere in domestic or U.S. politics” by launching an investigation into Trump's political rivals.
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