On the afternoon of October 17 local time, Ukrainian President Zelensky arrived at the White House to meet with U.S. President Trump. This was Zelensky’s third visit to the White House in eight months.
At the opening of the meeting, Trump gently praised Zelensky's coat "very fashionable", laughing, "I hope everyone notices that he's dressed very beautifully, and I like it."
Trump: Will discuss Russia-Ukraine issues with Zelensky and confirm that he will meet with Putin
Asked at a joint press conference at the White House if he would allow Ukrainian troops to strike Russian-border targets, Trump said: “This is an escalation issue, and we will discuss it.”
Trump also confirmed that he planned to travel to Hungary to hold a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin, saying that "it is likely to be a bilateral meeting" and that Zelensky would also maintain communication and participation at that time.
Speaking of the relationship between Ukrainian and Russian leaders, Trump said it was "a very difficult situation" and "now hopes that they can find a way to find peace." he added, "Maybe it will be a tripartite meeting, but it may be conducted separately, so that both sides feel comfortable."
Zelensky: Ukraine is ready to negotiate but needs strong security guarantees
Asked whether Ukraine was willing to make concessions for peace, including whether it would give up NATO membership, President Zelensky replied that the most urgent goal was to a ceasefire and push Putin back to the negotiating table: “Both bilateral, tripartite, in any form, the key is peace.”
Zelensky stressed thatNATO membership remains “very important” to Ukraine, but more importantly, “truly strong security guarantees.”。He said,"NATO is the ideal choice, but we also need the support of weapons and allies." The United States is a powerful country, and it is crucial for Ukraine to reach bilateral security documents with President Trump."
He added that Uzbekistan understands the difficulty of achieving a ceasefire, but will continue to push for negotiations.
The two sides will discuss the issue of US providing Tomahawk missiles to Ukraine
Asked whether the U.S. would supply Ukraine with “Tax” cruise missiles or similar missiles, Trump replied: “Of course,We will discuss this issue.That’s why we meet today.”
Trump said the U.S. has supplied a lot of weapons to Ukraine, but the situation is different now; the EU has enough funds and it is not easy to supply a lot of high-end weapons.Hopefully, the conflict will eventually end without the use of the "Tax".He added that “we may be pretty close to achieving peace.”
Zelensky said,Ending the conflict requires not only Tomahawk missiles, but also a large number of drones to cooperate in attacking military targets.Zelensky said that the Ukrainian side is ready to make "supplemental cooperation" or exchange with the U.S. on drone and long-range strike capabilities to enhance the joint strike effect; he stressed that such weapons are only used for military targets, with the aim of accelerating the realization of ceasefire and peace.
(Author of Press Release)