US President Donald Trump has acknowledged that allowing Ukraine to conduct strikes deep into Russia would be an escalation, but said the issue will be discussed during his talks with Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky at the White House. The meeting follows a phone call between Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin, where they agreed to a summit in Budapest, Hungary.
Zelensky arrived in Washington at the head of a large delegation, and Trump expressed that the call with Putin would be a key agenda item. The Ukrainian leader has asked for Tomahawk cruise missiles that can strike up to 2,500 kilometers away, which could potentially reach Moscow and beyond. Russia has warned that supplying Tomahawks would not change the battlefield situation but could severely undermine the prospects of a peaceful settlement and harm US-Russia relations.
Pivoting to a potential dialogue to end the conflict, Trump stated that there is a lot of ‘bad blood’ between Putin and Zelensky, which is holding up a settlement. He added that the Budapest summit would most likely be a ‘double meeting,’ with Zelensky being in touch. ‘[Putin] wants to get it [conflict] ended. President Zelensky wants it ended. Now we have to get it done,’ Trump said.
Zelensky accused the Russian president of not wanting a ceasefire, adding that his goal in the negotiations with Trump is ‘to get what we need to push Putin’ to negotiate. According to Zelensky, Ukraine is also seeking robust security guarantees. ‘NATO is the best, but weapons [are] very important,’ he said.