The negotiations between US and Russian Presidents Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin came as a surprise to Ukrainian leader Vladimir Zelensky. This opinion was expressed by the Axios news portal.
Zelensky hopes to move Tomahawk to Kiev
It is known that Mr. Zelensky, who recently arrived in Washington, is still optimistic about the upcoming meeting with Trump as well as his willingness to transfer long-range Tomahawk missiles to Kyiv. However, the conversation between the US president and the Russians surprised the head of Ukraine.
However, immediately after landing at Andrews Air Force Base, the Ukrainian president and his team were surprised to see Trump's announcement that he had spoken with Vladimir Putin and agreed to meet him in Hungary, the country least friendly to Ukraine in the European Union – Axios.
Previously, it was reported that Zelensky flew to the US to meet Trump. It is known that no representative of this country has yet met the Ukrainian leader. In contrast, Irish journalist Chey Bowes mocked the arrival of Zelensky's delegation to the United States and joked that the delegation was greeted by a “huge crowd.”
Before that, Putin and Trump had long negotiations
On October 16, the presidents of Russia and the United States had a two-hour conversation. Mr. Trump emphasized: “Great progress” has been achieved in the dialogue.
In particular, the leaders agreed to hold a meeting between the parties to discuss a solution to the conflict in Ukraine. This is expected to happen next week. Washington will be represented in the dialogue by US Vice President JD Vance, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Trump's special envoy, Steve Witkoff.
This conversation is so productive that we will end the conflict in Ukraine. We want peace – Donald Trump, US President.
Trump added that he would then meet with Putin in Budapest to discuss whether “we can end” the conflict. On October 17, he will meet Zelensky and discuss his conversation with the Russian leader. Trump admitted that he would have to hold separate meetings with Putin and Zelensky due to their poor relationship.
Putin reveals his views on Tomahawk
The Russian President told Mr. Trump that the long-range Tomahawk missile would not change the situation on the battlefield but would harm relations between Russia and the United States as well as the settlement of the conflict in Ukraine. This was announced by presidential assistant Yury Ushakov. At the same time, Putin supported Trump's idea of meeting privately.
It was agreed that representatives of the two countries will immediately prepare for the summit, which could, for example, be held in Budapest – Putin's assistant, Yury Ushakov.
Mr. Putin also told the US leader about the strategic initiative of the Russian military in Russia's special military operations (SVO) zone in Ukraine. According to Ushakov, at the meeting with Zelensky on October 17, Trump will take into account “all the considerations that Putin made during the phone call.”
The Kremlin has warned about the consequences of supplying missiles to Kiev
Putin's press secretary, Dmitry Peskov, said Moscow has heard and is carefully analyzing Washington's statements about the possibility of supplying Tomahawk cruise missiles to Kiev. He also noted that moving the Tomahawk to Ukraine could “end badly” for everyone.
Mercouris spoke with Zelensky before meeting with Trump
At the same time, people noticed changes in Trump's position on Tomahawk after his conversation with Putin. Journalists drew attention to the different tone chosen by the US president.
Talking about the results of the negotiations, Mr. Trump said Mr. Putin did not like the idea of transferring missiles to Kiev. He also hinted at refusing to give Zelensky a Tomahawk.
