Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy invited former President Donald Trump to Ukraine on Sunday to see the scale of the war for himself, but Trump respectfully declined in a statement to Newsmax.

“I have great respect for President Zelenskyy, but think it would be inappropriate to go to Ukraine at this time,” Trump wrote in a statement responding to Zelenskyy’s invite made on NBC’s “Meet the Press.” “The Biden administration is currently dealing with him, and I would not want to create a conflict of interest.”

Zelenskyy’s invite was a counter to Trump’s long-running claim he could solve the Russia war in Ukraine in “24 hours.” Zelenskyy said he would just need “24 minutes” to prove to Trump that was not possible.

[Curious. Trump has hardly restrained himself in the past over concerns about Logan Act violations or ‘conflict[s] of interest.’ Indeed, his earlier comments about having the ability to resolve the war in 24 hours was a rebuke to both Zelensky and Biden. It’s also curious because such a trip would grab headlines in the media and at least provide some distraction from the legal challenges Trump faces at the moment. And if he did advance a solution that actually worked, he’d be unbeatable. — Ed]