WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump said Thursday he will meet again with Russia’s Vladimir Putin in an effort to end the war in Ukraine.
Before Trump and Putin meet, U.S. officials led by Secretary of State Marco Rubio will sit down with Russian representatives next week.
All right?” Trump weighs Tomahawks for Ukraine Trump is set to host Zelenskyy for talks Friday, their fourth face-to-face meeting this year.
“He’d like to have Tomahawks,” Trump said of Zelenskyy on Tuesday.
Administration officials have gone through the legislation in depth, offering line edits and requesting technical changes, according to two officials with knowledge of the discussions between the White House and the Senate.
WASHINGTON (AP) — In an effort to put an end to the conflict in Ukraine, President Donald Trump announced Thursday that he will meet with Vladimir Putin of Russia once more. Although a specific date has not been announced, Trump stated on social media that the meeting would happen in Budapest, Hungary.
Trump wrote after speaking with Putin, “I think today’s phone conversation was a great step forward.”. They had previously met in August in Alaska, but there had been no diplomatic breakthrough.
Prior to Trump and Putin’s encounter, U. S. . The Russian representatives will meet with officials next week under the leadership of Secretary of State Marco Rubio. What location that meeting will be held at is unknown.
The call was made in advance of Trump’s Friday White House meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, who has been exerting pressure on Trump to sell Kyiv Tomahawk missiles, which would enable Ukrainian forces to launch attacks farther into Russian territory. Such strikes, according to Zelenskyy, would help pressure Putin to give Trump’s demands for direct talks between Russia and Ukraine to end the war more weight.
During his trip to Israel on Sunday, Trump informed reporters that he intended to speak with Putin about the Tomahawks in order to put pressure on him to halt Russia’s war in Ukraine. On Sunday, Trump stated, “I don’t think they want Tomahawks going in that direction.”. “I may discuss that with Russia,” I said. “”.
Trump has declared that he is now focusing on ending the war in Ukraine and is considering giving Kyiv long-range weapons in an effort to pressure Moscow to the negotiating table, given the tenuous Israel-Hamas ceasefire and hostage agreement.
Trump’s 2024 reelection campaign focused heavily on ending the wars in Gaza and Ukraine, during which he repeatedly criticized President Joe Biden for how he handled the conflicts. Trump has, however, been thwarted by Putin, just like his predecessor, despite his futile attempts to persuade the Russian leader to have direct talks with Zelenskyy in order to end the war, which is now approaching its fourth year.
However, following the ceasefire in Gaza, Trump is displaying renewed faith that he can finally make progress in putting an end to the Russian invasion. Additionally, if Putin doesn’t come to the table soon, he’s indicating that he’s prepared to increase pressure on him.
Regarding the conflict between Russia and Ukraine, Trump said, “Interestingly, we made progress today, because of what’s happened in the Middle East,” during a lavish dinner on Wednesday night for supporters of his White House ballroom project.
In a speech to the Knesset earlier this week in Jerusalem, Trump said the Gaza truce would set the stage for the U.S. S. . to assist Israel in normalizing relations with many of its neighbors in the Middle East. Trump has stated that putting an end to the biggest war in Europe since World War II is his top foreign policy priority at the moment.
Trump turned to Steve Witkoff, his special envoy and his administration’s main mediator with Putin, and declared, “First we have to get Russia done.”. “We must finish that one. Steve, if you don’t mind, let’s start by talking about Russia. Okay?
For Ukraine, Trump considers Tomahawks.
Friday will mark Trump and Zelenskyy’s fourth in-person meeting of the year.
Trump has stated that he is considering selling Kyiv long-range Tomahawk cruise missiles prior to the meeting. Putin has stated unequivocally that supplying Ukraine with Tomahawks would be unacceptable and further deteriorate ties between Moscow and Washington.
Trump, however, has not been deterred.
Trump referred to Zelenskyy as “desiring Tomahawks” on Tuesday. There are a lot of Tomahawks here. “.”.
Mark Montgomery, an analyst at the conservative Foundation for Defense of Democracies in Washington, said that reaching an agreement to sell Ukraine Tomahawks would be a showy move. However, providing Kyiv with the Tomahawk system and training it could take years.
In the short term, Montgomery said, Ukraine could benefit more from an increase in Army Tactical Missile System, or ATACMS, and Extended Range Attack Munition, or ERAM, missiles. The U. S. . approved earlier this year the sale of up to 3,350 ERAMs to Kyiv.
Ukraine would be able to strike much deeper into Russian territory with the Tomahawk, which has a range of roughly 995 miles (1,600 kilometers), than with the ERAM (about 285 miles, or 460 km) or ATACMS (about 186 miles, or 300 km).
According to Montgomery, the decision to supply Tomahawks is as much a political one as a military one. Even though the ERAM has a shorter range, they can still exert operational pressure on Russia by putting pressure on their logistics, command and control, and force deployment within a few hundred kilometers of the front line. It can work really well. “”.
the White House’s interest in new sanctions against Russia.
Zelenskyy is anticipated to restate his request that Trump impose additional sanctions on Russia’s economy, something the Republican has so far seemed hesitant to do.
Congress has considered passing legislation that would impose more severe sanctions on Moscow, but Trump has mostly concentrated on encouraging NATO members and other allies to stop buying Russian oil, which powers Moscow’s war machine. Trump stated Wednesday that India, which after the invasion of Ukraine became one of Russia’s largest buyers of crude, had decided to cease purchasing oil from Moscow.
In an effort to economically cripple Moscow, Senate legislation is awaiting Trump’s approval and would impose high tariffs on nations that buy Russia’s gas, oil, uranium, and other exports.
The White House has indicated more interest in the bill in recent weeks, despite the fact that the president has not formally endorsed it and Republican leaders do not intend to proceed without his backing.
According to two officials familiar with the White House-Senate talks, administration officials have thoroughly reviewed the legislation, proposing technical changes and line edits. Capitol Hill residents have taken that as evidence that Trump is becoming more committed to the legislation, which is being supported by close ally Sen. R-S Lindsey Graham. C. accompanied by Sen. D-Conn. Richard Blumenthal.
An official from the White House stated that the administration is collaborating with lawmakers to ensure that “introduced bills advance the president’s foreign policy objectives and authorities.”. According to the official, who asked not to be named in order to speak about private discussions, the president must have “complete flexibility” in any sanctions package. “.”.
On Wednesday, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent stated that the administration is awaiting more support from Europe, which he pointed out is more threatened by Russian aggression than the United States. A. carries out.
“I’ve only heard from the Europeans that Putin is visiting Warsaw,” Bessent stated. “There aren’t many things in life that I know for sure. He’s not coming to Boston, I’m sure. We will therefore reply dot. if our European allies will accompany us. “.”
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