KYIV, May 17 – Rudy Giuliani, the personal lawyer for U.S. President Donald Trump, has said he believes President-elect Volodymyr Zelensky, to fulfill his campaign promises, should "be cleansed from the 'clingfishes' from his past and criminal oligarchs… and those who interfere in [his] direct communication with the president-elect."

"The most difficult time now is an honest and transparent transition of power to the president-elect and his ability to fulfill his election promises," Giuliani said in an interview for the Kyiv-based Inter TV channel, the full text of which was published on the Facebook page by the channel's special correspondent Dmitry Anopchenko. "To do this, he must be cleansed from the 'clingfishes' from his past and criminal oligarchs, Ihor Kolomoisky and others... Those who will be investigated in America, those who interfere in our direct communication with the president-elect [Zelensky]."