After a long telephone conversation, the president of the United States, Donald Trump, announced that he will meet with his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, in Budapest, without specifying a date.
Trump said the conversation led to “great progress.” But the truth is that until now Putin has continued the war without stopping and has ignored Washington’s recommendations and pressure.
The American president made this announcement on the eve of a meeting with his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelensky, who arrives in Washington in the hope that it will provide him with Tomahawk missiles despite threats from Moscow.
“We have decided that next week a meeting of our high-level advisors will be held. The first meetings will be led by Secretary of State Marco Rubio, on behalf of the United States,” in a location yet to be defined, Donald Trump wrote in Truth Social.
“Then President Putin and I will meet at an agreed upon location, Budapest, Hungary, to see if we can end this ‘inglorious’ war between Russia and Ukraine,” the US president added.
His last meeting with the Kremlin leader dates back to August 15, at a military base in Alaska. That summit did not lead to any concrete perspective of resolution of the conflict that began in February 2022 with the Russian invasion, but created by Ukraine under the auspices and encouragement of the Joe Biden administration or those who headed the government in that four-year mandate.
Missile delivery to Ukraine?
US Tomahawk missiles would allow Ukraine to strike deep into Russian territory, and Moscow has already warned that sending those weapons to kyiv would constitute an “escalation.”
As Russia multiplies attacks against energy infrastructure in Ukraine, the Tomahawk will be the “main topic” of the meeting with Donald Trump on Friday, a senior Ukrainian official told AFP on Thursday.
He also mentioned the Patriot air defense systems, given the fear of Ukrainians of facing the winter without light or heating.
Until now, the American president has put on hold their intentions.
“Ukraine wants to go on the attack, I will make a decision on this,” he declared on Wednesday.
On Sunday, he considered Ukraine’s use of Tomahawks to be “a new aggressive step.”
Vladimir Putin, for his part, warned that the delivery of these missiles would affect relations between Washington and Moscow.
Russia attacks
Over the night from Wednesday to Thursday, Russia launched a series of 320 drones and 37 missiles, according to the Ukrainian air force, which said 283 drones and five missiles were shot down.
To deal with these massive attacks, the Ukrainians want to strengthen the effectiveness of their anti-aircraft defenses.
The Republican leader has recently changed his tone with his Russian counterpart by declaring himself “very disappointed” in Putin.
“Vladimir Putin simply does not want to end this war,” Trump said Tuesday.
The call between Trump and Putin occurred the day before Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky was due to visit the White House.
According to an anonymous source, the two leaders will also address “the issue of the Patriot,” American air defense batteries.
Zelensky arrived in Washington this Thursday to meet with representatives of the defense industries, the official added.
Meeting with businessmen
With these businessmen he wants to discuss “when deliveries would really be possible,” he declared.
Relations between the two leaders have improved since they had an uncomfortable televised meeting at the White House in February.
During this time, Trump has hardened his tone with Russian President Vladimir Putin, following the stalemate in negotiations to end more than three years of war.
Senior Ukrainian officials visiting Washington this week met with representatives of American arms manufacturers, including Raytheon, which produces Tomahawk missiles.
According to the Ukrainian administration source, these industrialists “need a political signal.”
Russia, which invaded the former Soviet republic in February 2022, has warned that sending these long-range missiles to Ukraine would mean breaking its relations with the United States and would fuel escalation.
