Ukraine’s president said Thursday there was “no blackmail” by President Trump in their phone call at the center of House Democrats’ impeachment inquiry.

President Volodymyr Zelensky told The Associated Press for the first time that his country will “happily” investigate Mr. Trump’s claim that it was Ukrainians, not Russians, who interfered in the 2016 U.S. presidential election.

He also encouraged U.S. and Ukrainian prosecutors to discuss investigating Burisma Holdings, the energy company that paid $3 million to Hunter Biden, son of Democratic presidential candidate Joseph R. Biden.

Mr. Zelensky said U.S. officials have presented no evidence of Ukraine’s interference in 2016, AP reported. But he said it’s in his country’s interests to get to the bottom of what happened.

Mr. Zelensky said he only learned after the July 25 phone call with Mr. Trump that the U.S. had blocked military aid to Ukraine.

“There was no blackmail,” he said.

He said he would not interfere in any decision by U.S. and Ukrainian prosecutors whether to investigate the subjects that Mr. Trump requested.

“I don’t want to be pulled into this because I understand that my words could impact the elections of the American people,” he told AP.

Sign up for Daily Newsletters Manage Newsletters

Copyright © 2020 The Washington Times, LLC. Click here for reprint permission.