Trump tells Zelensky to ‘make a deal’ as Tomahawk plea misfires

WASHINGTON – Mr Donald Trump told Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Oct 17 to make a deal with Russia, pouring cold water on Kyiv’s hopes for Tomahawk missiles as the US leader renews a push to settle the war.

Mr Trump said as recently as September that he believed Ukraine could take back all its territory. But a day after agreeing to meet Russian President Vladimir Putin for a new summit, the American had changed his tune.

“It’s good that President Trump didn’t say ‘no,’ but for today, (he) didn’t say ‘yes’” to providing Kyiv with Tomahawks, Mr Zelensky told US broadcaster NBC on Oct 17.

After meeting with Mr Zelensky at the White House, Mr Trump said 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 posted online, while flying to his Florida estate.

Upon landing, he told reporters that Ukraine and Russia should “stop right now at the battle line”.

“Go by the battle line wherever it is or else it gets too complicated,” he added.

Mr Zelensky meanwhile said after the meeting that Russia was “afraid” of the US-made long-range Tomahawk cruise missiles, and that he was “realistic” about receiving the weapons from Washington.

He told reporters that while he and Mr Trump talked about long-range weapons, they “decided that we don’t speak about it because... the United States doesn’t want escalation”.

‘Get the war over’

Mr Zelensky came to Washington after weeks of calls for Tomahawks
, hoping to capitalise on Mr Trump’s growing frustration with Mr Putin after a summit in Alaska failed to produce a breakthrough.

But the Ukrainian left empty-handed as Mr Trump eyes a fresh diplomatic breakthrough on the back of last week’s Gaza peace deal.

Mr Trump has appeared far more upbeat about the prospects of a deal since his 2½-hour call with Mr Putin on Oct 16, in which they agreed to meet in Budapest.

“Hopefully we’ll be able to get the war over with, without thinking about Tomahawks,” Mr Trump told journalists including an AFP reporter as he hosted Mr Zelensky at the White House.

Mr Trump added that he believed Putin “wants to end the war”.

Mr Zelensky, who came to push for the long-range US-made weapons, said however that he would be ready to swap “thousands” of Ukrainian drones in exchange for Tomahawks.

Mr Zelensky congratulated Mr Trump
on his recent Middle East peace deal in Gaza and said he hoped he would do the same for Ukraine. “I hope that President Trump can manage it,” he said.

‘Many questions’

Diplomatic talks on ending Russia’s invasion have stalled since the Alaska summit.

The Kremlin said on Oct 17 that “many questions” needed resolving before Mr Putin and Mr Trump could meet, including who would be on each negotiating team.

But it brushed off suggestions Mr Putin would have difficulty flying over European airspace.

Hungary said it would ensure Mr Putin could enter and “hold successful talks” with the US despite an International Criminal Court (ICC) arrest warrant against him for alleged war crimes.

Since the start of his second term, Mr Trump’s position on the Ukraine war has shifted dramatically back and forth.

Initially, Mr Trump and Mr Putin reached out to each other as the US leader derided Mr Zelensky as a “dictator without elections”.

Tensions came to a head in February, when Mr Trump accused his Ukrainian counterpart of “not having the cards” in a rancorous televised meeting at the Oval Office.

Relations between the two have since warmed as Mr Trump has expressed growing frustration with Mr Putin.

But Mr Trump has kept a channel of dialogue open with Mr Putin, saying that they “get along”.

The US leader has repeatedly changed his position on sanctions and other steps against Russia following calls with the Russian President.

Mr Putin ordered a full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, describing it as a “special military operation” to demilitarise the country and prevent the expansion of Nato.

Russia now occupies around a fifth of Ukrainian territory – much of it ravaged by fighting.

On Oct 17, the Russian Defence Ministry announced it had captured three villages in Ukraine’s Dnipropetrovsk and Kharkiv regions. AFP