(Washington, D.C.) US President Trump held talks with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky at the White House on Friday (October 17), urging Zelensky to reach a deal with Russia on the war. Trump did not agree to provide Ukraine with Tomahawk cruise missiles, leaving Zelensky, who had hoped to increase US pressure on Russia, empty-handed.
After the meeting, Trump posted on social media: "I told him (Zelensky), as I strongly advised (Russian President) Putin, it's time to stop the killing and make a deal! They should call a truce. Let both sides claim victory and let history judge!"
After the meeting, Trump traveled to Mar-a-Lago in Florida for the weekend. Upon arrival, he told the media that Russia and Ukraine should stop fighting on the current front, otherwise the situation would become more complicated. He also ruled out a trilateral meeting between the US, Russian, and Ukrainian leaders in the near future.
The day before, after a two-hour phone call with Putin, Trump announced that he would meet with Putin in Budapest, Hungary, in two weeks to see if the war could be stopped. Trump's sudden shift in tone regarding whether he would provide Tomahawk cruise missiles, which have a range of up to 1,600 kilometers, to Ukraine has sparked concerns that he is being manipulated by Putin again.
When reporters asked him Friday whether Ukraine would have to give up territory in exchange for peace, Trump simply said, "No one knows." However, he indicated that he would remain in contact with Zelenskyy during his meeting with Putin.
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Zelensky urged the US to provide Tomahawk missiles, but Trump refused.
For weeks, Zelensky had repeatedly called on the US to provide Tomahawk missiles, but Friday's meeting dashed his hopes. Zelensky reiterated Ukraine's need for strong security guarantees, saying, "We believe Trump wants to end this war."
Zelensky posted on social media after Friday's meeting that he and Trump had a sharp conversation for over two hours, during which Ukraine hoped the US would pressure Russia to end the Russo-Ukrainian war. Zelensky said the two sides discussed a series of key issues, including battlefield dynamics, long-range strike capabilities, and air defense deployments.
Zelensky told Trump that Ukraine has thousands of drones ready to attack Russian targets, but needs the support of US Tomahawk missiles.
US media reported that the White House talks were tense, with the two sides differing on the prospects of war, with Trump refusing to provide Ukraine with Tomahawk missiles, which have a range as far as the Russian capital, Moscow.
Zelensky told reporters after the meeting that he did not want to discuss long-range missiles and that the US did not want to escalate the situation. He demonstrated his pragmatic approach to acquiring long-range missiles.
It is known that after the meeting, Zelensky informed the European Union, NATO, Britain, Germany, Italy, Finland, Norway, Poland and other countries of the specific details of the talks with Trump.
