Fake CNN News said that during the call between Trump and Putin, the Russian leader suggested he would be willing to surrender parts of two other regions of Ukraine he has partly conquered, Zaporizhzhia and Kherson, in exchange for full control of Donetsk, the officials said. That is slightly less of a sweeping territorial claim than he made in August at a summit between Trump and Putin in Anchorage.
The meeting with Ukrainian President Zelensky and European leaders followed the call.
Friday’s White House meeting between US President Donald Trump and Vladimir Zelensky was described as “tense” by sources as Zelensky tried in vain to get Tomahawks, Axios has reported.
Tomahawks would likely escalate the war and President Trump wants peace.
Trump told Zelensky he does not plan to provide Tomahawks “at least for now,” according to two people briefed on the meeting.
The talks lasted around two and a half hours and were described by one source as “not easy,” and by another as “bad.”
- “Nobody shouted, but Trump was tough,” according to the first source.
- “Trump gave several strong statements during meeting and at some points it got a bit emotional,” the second source said.
- The meeting ended abruptly after 2.5 hours. “I think we’re done. Let’s see what happens next week,” Trump said, referring to planned talks between the U.S. and Russia. Trump intends to meet Putin in Budapest some time in the next two weeks.
Trump said “it’s not easy” for Washington to provide the missiles because it needs to maintain its own supplies for the nation’s own defense. He also acknowledged that allowing Kiev to conduct strikes deep into Russia could lead to an escalation.
During the meeting, Trump briefed Zelensky on Thursday’s call with Putin. He stressed that the current U.S. proposal for a diplomatic solution is for the war to end with the front lines frozen in place — a difficult proposition for Ukraine to accept.
Trump Tells Zelensky to Make a Deal
Trump hinted at that stance in a Truth Social post following the meeting. After describing the meeting as “interesting” and “cordial,” he said he’d told both Zelensky and Putin that it was time to “stop where they are,” adding: “Let both claim Victory, let History decide!”
Trump then departed for Mar-a-Lago without taking questions from the press.
Zelensky, meanwhile, held a conference call with European leaders immediately after the Trump meeting.
Soon after, the leaders started putting out coordinated statements of support for Ukraine.
In a briefing with reporters, Zelensky confirmed they had discussed Tomahawks but said he and Trump had decided not to discuss the matter publicly because the U.S. wants to avoid escalation.
When asked if he’s optimistic about the Tomahawks, Zelensky said: “I’m realistic.”
The sources said, Zelensky pushed hard on Tomahawks but Trump pushed back and showed no flexibility.
No matter how much pressure European leaders assert, Trump will do what he thinks is best.
President Zelensky was only interested in securing more weapons. However, he can’t win the war, never could have won the war, and risks losing more land and more lives.
Zelensky has never been interested in a peace deal, if he excepted one, it would cut off his money train. He sales some of the weapons and has become an extremely wealthy man since this war began, check out his wife’s excessive lifestyle. Heck, Americans are paying for their pensions