However, Trump apparently considers a possible delivery of the Tomahawk cruise missiles hoped for by Ukraine to be premature."Hopefully, they won't need them," the US president said on Friday during talks with Zelenskyy at the White House.
"Hopefully, we'll be able to end the war without thinking about Tomahawks," said Trump, who plans to meet again with Russian President Vladimir Putin soon. The Republican added that it would most likely be a one-on-one meeting, but that they wanted to stay in contact with Zelensky at the same time. There's a lot of bad blood between Moscow and Kyiv. Trump added that they wanted to make it pleasant for everyone. One way or another, all three sides—Russia, Ukraine, and the US—would be involved, but that could be done separately, he said.
At the beginning of their meeting at the White House, Trump praised Zelensky for his strength. It was an honor to meet with such a strong leader, Trump said. Zelensky had been through a lot, and the US had been through it with him. They understand each other very well, Trump emphasized at the third meeting between him and the Ukrainian president this year at the White House.
The two heads of state last met in mid-August – in a more relaxed atmosphere, after the first meeting in Washington in February ended in an unprecedented scandal. The US President and his Vice President, J.D. Vance, brusquely reprimanded the Ukrainian leader in front of live cameras – after which Zelenskyy left earlier than planned.
Selenskyj has been in Washington since Thursday
Zelenskyy had already arrived in the US capital, Washington, on Thursday. He stated that he wanted to meet with representatives of defense companies to strengthen his country's defenses. Discussions were also expected to include additional deliveries of air defense systems. Against the backdrop of the energy crisis in Ukraine caused by Russian attacks, meetings with representatives of US energy companies were also planned.
The day before the meeting with Zelensky, Trump spoke by phone with Russian President Vladimir Putin. Trump then suggested a face-to-face meeting with Putin, saying he wanted to meet with the Kremlin chief in Budapest, Hungary,"probably in the next two weeks." The two had already met in Alaska in August – without Zelensky and without any tangible results.
Budapest as the venue for such a format raises questions. An international arrest warrant has been in place for Putin since March 2023. This was issued because the International Criminal Court (ICC) believes the Kremlin chief is responsible for the trafficking of Ukrainian children to Russia. Currently, this arrest warrant has primarily symbolic significance: The court, based in The Hague, does not have its own police power to arrest Putin.
What role does Hungary play
Hungary, as an EU member state, would have to execute the arrest warrant – even though it decided to leave the World Court in May. However, this decision will not take effect until a year later. Formally, Budapest must also continue to cooperate with the court in investigations that began before the country's exit.
Budapest appeared unimpressed by this: They said they would not arrest Putin. The Hungarian government guaranteed him unhindered entry and exit from the EU country, as well as the successful conduct of his negotiations. No coordination with anyone was necessary for this,"because we are a sovereign country," said Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto. The fact that Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban maintains good relations with both Putin and Trump may also play a role.
Trump wants to see himself as a mediator in the Ukraine war
Trump has long attempted to intervene as a mediator in the Ukraine war, so far without much success. After the Alaska meeting, Trump originally aimed for a three-way meeting in the negotiations to end the fighting – but that never happened.
Russia began the war with an attack on Ukraine in February 2022. Since then, the fighting has continued relentlessly.
