During a tense meeting on October 17 at the White House, President Donald Trump told Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky that he had no intention of supplying Tomahawk long-range missiles, at least for now.
One source said the meeting was not easy while the other source only said the meeting between the two US and Ukrainian leaders was very bad.
"No one shouted, but Trump was tough," the first source said.
"Mr. Trump made some strong statements during the meeting and at some points, the meeting became a bit tense," 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, suggesting the upcoming planned US-Russia talks. President Trump plans to meet Russian President Vladimir Putin in Budapest in the next two weeks.
During a meeting with the Ukrainian leader, Mr. Trump informed about his October 16 phone call with Mr. Putin.
Mr. Trump emphasized that the current US proposal for a diplomatic solution to end the conflict through freezing the frontline is an unacceptable proposal for Ukraine.
This stance continued to be raised by Mr. Trump in a post on Truth Social after the meeting. Mr. Trump said the meeting was "attractive" and "close". The US leader added that he had discussed with both Zelensky and Putin that it was time to "come to where they are". "Let's both declare victory, let's let history decide!" - Mr. Trump emphasized.
After meeting with his Ukrainian counterpart, Mr. Trump returned to Mar-a-Lago without answering any questions from the press.
Meanwhile, Mr Zelensky held an online meeting with European leaders immediately after the meeting with Mr Trump and leaders who made joint statements in support of Ukraine.
At a press conference afterwards, Zelensky confirmed that he had discussed Tomahawk, but both sides decided not to discuss it publicly because the US wanted to avoid escalation.
When asked if he was optimistic about Tomahawk, Zelensky replied: "I do."
Many sources said that Mr. Zelensky has strongly pushed for the US to transfer Tomahawk to Ukraine, but Mr. Trump has objected and expressed no intention of changing.
President Zelensky's top priority during the visit is to achieve President Trump's commitment not only to Tomahawk missiles but also to many other weapons systems that Ukraine wishes to receive.
Many sources said that President Trump has clearly stated his current top priority as diplomacy, and he believes that the provision of Tomahawk missiles could undermine that priority.
