Volodymyr Zelensky suggested Ukraine could exchange drones for US Tomahawk missiles during his White House meeting with Donald Trump on Friday.
The Ukrainian president spoke during a press conference in the cabinet room as the leaders met for the second time this year at the White House, eight months after their disastrous encounter in February.
The tone was markedly different as Mr Trump praised Mr Zelensky for his âstrengthâ as a leader â and choice of dress â before questions turned to the possible provision of long-range missiles, called into doubt in the wake of Mr Trumpâs call with Vladimir Putin on Thursday.
Mr Trump insisted he would rather end the war and avoid having to provide Ukraine with Tomahawk missiles, but didnât reject the idea outright. He also acknowledged the possibility he was being âplayedâ by Mr Putin.
Later on, he acknowledged the impact American weapons have had in Ukraineâs defence, telling reporters: âI think that [Mr Putin] should have won the war in a weekâ, before outlining the value of US aid.
Mr Trump insisted throughout the gathering that he believed both Mr Putin and Mr Zelensky wanted to end the war, eyeing up the chance to end a âninthâ conflict during his presidency.
The US leader took a diplomatic tone throughout, telling reporters he thought both were âdoing a great jobâ when asked whether Mr Putin or Mr Zelensky was doing a better job of negotiating.
He avoided a question on whether Ukraine could get back all of its territory, after suggesting it could earlier this year.
âYou never know,â he said. âWar is very interesting. You never know, do you?â
Mr Zelensky was careful not to ask too much of his counterpart, but did suggest that Ukraine could trade the coveted cruise missiles for Ukrainian drones when Mr Trump said he hoped to end the war without having to send Ukraine more weapons.
Mr Trump insisted that the US needs to take care of its own stockpiles, including Tomahawks, before sending them abroad.
Mr Zelensky, asking politely to interject, said there was an array of support in demand, and said he wanted to work with Mr Trump to both secure Ukraineâs needs and strengthen US production.
Mr Zelensky pointed out that Ukraine has “thousands” of highly advanced drones developed during the war and suggested that Ukraine could trade that home-grown technology in exchange for the Tomahawks.
Asked by a reporter whether he’d be interested in such a deal, Mr Trump replied: âWe are â yeah, we would. We build our own drones, but we also buy drones from others, and they [Ukraine] make a very good drone.â
But Mr Trump reiterated that he would still rather end the war and later warned that sending them to Ukraine could be interpreted as an âescalationâ.
The proposal to make a deal with Mr Trump over continued US support was one of the few times Mr Zelensky spoke up during the press conference.
The supply of Tomahawk missiles to Ukraine had been in focus ahead of Fridayâs summit. The cruise missiles would bolster Ukraineâs ability to hit deep into Russia.
Before the meeting, Mr Trump suggested he âmayâ be open to providing Ukraine with Tomahawks. After the call with Mr Putin, however, he started to stress the USâs own needs.
Mr Trump was asked on Friday whether he was concerned that Mr Putin was trying to buy more time to prolong the war.
âYeah I am,â Mr Trump replied. âBut Iâve been played all my life by the best of them ⌠so itâs possible.â
He added: âI think Iâm pretty good at this stuff. I think he wants to make a deal. Iâve made eight of them. Iâm going to make a ninth.â
Mr Trump also referred to the looming summit with Mr Putin in Hungary, announced after Thursdayâs call. A date has still not been set.
He said he imagined the meeting in Budapest as a âdouble meetingâ without Mr Zelensky, as âwe want to make it comfortable for everybodyâ.
Mr Trump said that the call with Mr Putin would be on Fridayâs agenda, and that the topic of sending Tomahawk missiles to Ukraine would come up as well.
Colonel Philip Ingram, a former British Army officer and intelligence expert, told The Independent that the provision of Tomahawks would have two values to Ukraine.
âThey are very, very accurate and have a stealth better than most other missiles in the Ukrainian arsenal,â he said.
But more importantly, the political value would be in sending âa very clear message to Putin that the US is committed to Ukraine and angry at Russiaâ.
