Zelenskyy: We decided not to speak publicly about long-range systems
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has stated that Ukraine and the United States have decided not to speak publicly about long-range systems for now, adding that the US does not want escalation.
Source: Zelenskyy at a press briefing following his meeting with US President Donald Trump at the White House
Details: Zelenskyy said they had discussed long-range systems and Tomahawk missiles during the meeting, but they had decided not to comment publicly on this issue. He added that the United States would not like to see an escalation and that Trump noted during the meeting that the US also needs these missiles.
When asked whether he was optimistic about the supply of Tomahawks, the Ukrainian president replied: "I am realistic…"
The two also discussed a meeting between Trump and Kremlin leader Vladimir Putin in Budapest. According to Zelenskyy, Ukraine is counting on pressure from the US president to bring this war to an end.
Zelenskyy confirmed that he held a phone conversation with European leaders after the meeting with Trump. Present were European Council President António Costa, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, Finish President Alexander Stubb, Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre, UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte and Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk ("Not to forget anybody," the Ukrainian president added).
Quote: "One of the topics that we discussed with President Trump was about security guarantees... The Coalition of the Willing is our main European partner and of course the US... We spoke about air defence, it's very important... And we also spoke about the PURL programme."
Background:
- On 17 October, a bilateral meeting in the format of an official lunch was held at the White House between Zelenskyy and Trump.
- It was earlier reported that one of the key topics of the conversation between the two leaders would be the possible provision of long-range Tomahawk missiles to Ukraine.
- Following his conversation with Putin on Thursday, Trump said that the Russian ruler "didn't like" the idea of Tomahawk missiles being supplied to Ukraine.
- Before the lunch, Zelenskyy said he would propose a deal to the US president under which the US would supply Ukraine Tomahawk cruise missiles in exchange for Ukrainian drones.
- An Ukrainska Pravda source reported that the Ukrainian delegation presented their US counterparts with a map highlighting the "pain points" of Russia's defence industry and military economy during the bilateral lunch in Washington on 17 October.
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