George W. Bush to hold virtual conversation with Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy

WASHINGTON – Former Republican President George W. Bush, who essentially sat out this year's U.S. midterm elections, is re-appearing in public next week for a foreign policy event: a public conversation with Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

Russia's invasion of Ukraine will be a major topic of the Nov. 16 virtual discussion, which also features Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen. Taiwan is under threat from China.

The virtual interview as part of a series called The Struggle for Freedom, hosted by the George W. Bush Institute in partnership with Freedom House and the National Endowment for Democracy.

“Fearless supporters of freedom around the world remain undeterred, even in the face of threats, such as those in Ukraine following Vladimir Putin’s unjustified decision to invade that country,” said David J. Kramer, Executive Director of the Bush Institute.

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"We stand with the people of both Ukraine and Taiwan as they defend their right to live freely," Kramer said.

The former president had a private virtual meeting in May with Zelenskyy, after which Bush described the Ukrainian leader as the “Winston Churchill of our time.”

Bush has had little to do with domestic politics since leaving office in 2009, including the recent 2020 midterm elections.

The former president did host a fundraiser this year for Rep. Liz Cheney, R-Wyo., the daughter of former Bush Vice President Dick Cheney and a House member from Wyoming who went on to lose a Republican primary to a Donald Trump-backed challenger.

Trump has frequently attack Bush, over the Cheney fundraiser and other issues, but Bush has largely abstained from responding.

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During a 9/11 commemoration in 2021, Bush made an apparent reference to Trump while lamenting political divisions that have widened in recent years.

"A malign force seems at work in our common life that turns every disagreement into an argument, and every argument into a clash of cultures," Bush said. "So much of our politics has become a naked appeal to anger, fear, and resentment."

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: George W. Bush to hold discussion with Ukraine's President Zelenskyy