U.S. President Donald Trump held talks with Ukrainian President Zelensky in the White House on October 17, excluding the possibility of a recent tripartite meeting of U.S.-Russian leaders, and reduced the door on the possibility of the U.S. providing Ukraine with "strike ax" cruise missiles.

Trump: bilateral meetings, not tripartite meetings

In the press opening before the closed-door talks, Trump said that according to his vision, what is to be held in Hungary will be his "bilateral meeting" with Russian President Putin, rather than the tripartite talks with US-Russian leaders.

Zelensky said the "momentum" brought by the ceasefire in the Gaza Strip helped end the Ukrainian crisis that has lasted for more than three and a half years. Obtaining security guarantees is "the most important thing" for Ukraine. He suggested exchanging a large number of drones produced in Ukraine for Tomahawk missiles to the United States.

On the issue of Tomahawk missiles, Trump said that the United States also needs Tomahawk and other weapons made in the United States that have been shipped to Ukraine. He also admitted that providing Tomahawk to Ukraine would lead to an "escalation" of the situation and said, "I hope we can end the war without considering Tomahawk missiles."

Earlier this year, Trump pressured Ukraine to make concessions on territorial issues to end the Ukrainian crisis, and in late September again declared that Ukraine had the ability to ¡°take back the whole of Ukraine¡± and restore the original status of the territory.

Asked what concessions Ukraine was willing to make to end the conflict, Zelensky said, first, it was necessary to sit down and talk, and secondly, a ceasefire.He accused Russia of not wanting to return to the negotiating table and called on the United States to put pressure on Russia.Zelensky also said that Russia recently attacked Ukrainian energy infrastructure and that U.S. energy companies are ready to help.

A "Putt Conference" may be held within two weeks

On August 15, Trump and Putin held the first face-to-face meeting between U.S. and Russian leaders in more than four years in Anchorage, Alaska, but no agreement was reached. Russia-Ukraine ceasefire negotiations have so far reached a deadlock. On the 16th of this month, Trump and Putin had a long phone call and later announced that the two would meet in Budapest, the capital of Hungary, in the near future.

Trump posted on social media on the 16th of this month that his call with Putin was "fruitful" and "great progress has been made." The two sides agreed to hold a high-level US-Russia meeting next week. The U.S. delegation will be led by Secretary of State Rubio, and the meeting venue has yet to be determined. After the high-level meeting, he and Putin will meet in Budapest.

Russian Assistant President Ussakov said on Friday that Putin and Trump spoke for about two and a half hours and that the two sides will immediately begin preparations for a possible meeting of the two leaders in Budapest.

White House spokeswoman Levitt told reporters on Friday that the Trump-Putin conversation lasted more than two hours, saying Trump still believes it is "possible" for Putin to hold direct talks with Zelensky.

However, in response to a question about whether Putin pledged to hold a tripartite meeting of U.S.-Russia-Ukraine leaders, Levitt simply said that Putin pledged to sit down and talk to Trump.

The Russian news agency, citing Russian presidential press secretary Peskov, on Thursday that the meeting between Russian President Putin and U.S. President Trump could take place within two weeks or later.

Peskov made the above statement in response to reporters on questions about the possible holding of the ¡°Putts Conference¡± in Hungary. He also said that Russian Foreign Minister Lavrov and U.S. Secretary of State Rubio will discuss the relevant matters of the organization meeting.