Trump to speak with Putin ahead of Zelensky visit / Photo: © AFP
Trump to speak with Putin ahead of Zelensky visit
Donald Trump is set to speak with Russian leader Vladimir Putin Thursday, a White House official told AFP, a day before Ukraine's Volodymyr Zelensky meets the US president to push for Tomahawk missiles.
Trump has shown mounting frustration with Putin in recent months as the Kremlin leader snubs his calls for a ceasefire, while expressing sympathy for Ukraine as it fights against Russia's 2022 invasion.
Zelensky's meeting with Trump on Friday will focus on the possible delivery of American long-range Tomahawk missiles for Kyiv, a senior Ukrainian official told AFP.
On Sunday, Trump raised the possibility of speaking with Putin himself about the issue.
"I might talk to him, I might say, 'Look, if this war is not going to get settled, I'm going to send them Tomahawks.' I may say that," Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One en route to the Middle East.
"The Tomahawk is a incredible weapon, very offensive weapon, and honestly, Russia does not need that."
The US leader told reporters on Wednesday that the Ukrainians "want to go offensive" and that they would discuss Kyiv's request for the cruise missiles.
Relations between Trump and Zelensky have warmed since February, when they sparred during a now infamous televised meeting at the White House in which the US leader told his Ukrainian counterpart: "You don't have the cards."
The US president is also keen to up the pressure for a peace deal in Ukraine following the ceasefire agreement he brokered in Gaza between Israel and Hamas last week.
Trump's frustration has mounted after a summit in Alaska with Putin in August failed to produce a breakthrough.
(L.Møller--DTZ)
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