An earlier meeting between Presidents Trump and Zelensky at the White House had been a testy affair.<\/p>\n
US President Donald Trump has informed his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelenskyy during a tense meeting on Friday 17 October that he does not intend to provide long-range Tomahawk missiles, at least for now, as he considers diplomacy a priority.<\/p>\n
Source<\/strong>: Axios<\/a>; CNN<\/a> citing sources familiar with the Trump-Zelenskyy meeting<\/p>\n Details<\/strong>: Axios noted that Zelenskyy had hoped to leave Washington with promises of new weapons for Ukraine, but it turned out that Trump was in a very different mood the day after a lengthy phone call with Russian leader Vladimir Putin.<\/p>\n According to Axios sources, Trump made it clear that his priority at present is diplomacy and he believes that providing Tomahawks could undermine it.<\/p>\n One source said the meeting “was not easy”, while another called it “bad”.<\/p>\n Quote from one Axios source<\/strong>: “Nobody shouted, but Trump was tough.”<\/p>\n Quote from another Axios source<\/strong>: “Trump gave several strong statements during the meeting and at some points it got a bit emotional.”<\/p>\n Details<\/strong>: Axios added that the meeting had abruptly ended after two and a half hours.<\/p>\n “I think we’re done. Let’s see what happens next week,” Trump said, referring to planned US-Russian negotiations.<\/p>\n n addition, one CNN source noted that Trump apparently feels Ukraine seeks escalation and prolongation of the war and he is concerned about potential losses during the upcoming harsh winter.<\/p>\n Previously:<\/strong> Zelenskyy also stated at the briefing that the Ukrainian and American sides had decided not to speak publicly<\/a> about long-range systems for now, adding that the United States does not want escalation. In addition, he said that the “Russians are afraid of Tomahawks”<\/a> as a combination of weapon systems that Kyiv could receive from the United States.<\/p>\n Background:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n