US President Donald Trump told Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy on Friday to make a deal with Russia, pouring cold water on Kyiv’s hopes for Tomahawk missiles, as Trump renews a push to settle the war.
Trump last month said that he believed Ukraine could take back all its territory, but a day after agreeing to meet Russian President Vladimir Putin for a summit, the US president had changed his tune, although Zelenskiy did not rule out Trump changing his mind again in the future.
“It’s good that President Trump didn’t say ‘no,’ but for today, [he] didn’t say ‘yes’” to providing Kyiv with Tomahawks, Zelenskiy said.
Photo: AFP
After meeting with Zelenskiy at the White House, Trump wrote on social media that their talks were “very interesting, and cordial, but I told him, as I likewise strongly suggested to President Putin, that it is time to stop the killing, and make a DEAL!”
“They should stop where they are. Let both claim Victory, let History decide!” he wrote.
Ukraine and Russia should “stop right now at the battle line,” Trump told reporters.
“Go by the battle line wherever it is or else it gets too complicated,” he added.
Meanwhile, Zelenskiy said that Russia was “afraid” of the US-made long-range Tomahawk cruise missiles, and that he was “realistic” about receiving the weapons from Washington.
While he and Trump discussed long-range weapons they “decided that we don’t speak about it because... the United States doesn’t want escalation,” he added.
Zelenskiy came to Washington after weeks of calls for Tomahawks, hoping to capitalize on Trump’s growing frustration with Putin after a summit in Alaska failed to produce a breakthrough.
However, he left empty-handed as Trump eyes a new diplomatic breakthrough on the back of last week’s Gaza peace deal.
Trump has appeared far more upbeat about the prospects of a deal since his lengthy call on Thursday with Putin, in which they agreed to meet soon in Budapest.
“Hopefully we’ll be able to get the war over with, without thinking about Tomahawks,” Trump said, adding that he believed Putin “wants to end the war.”
Zelenskiy has said that he would be ready to swap “thousands” of Ukrainian drones in exchange for Tomahawks.
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