Trump, announcement on long-range missiles, “regardless of how Ukraine uses them.” The US president accuses a fake news
US President Donald Trump said on Wednesday that the news that the United States has approved Ukraine's use of long-range missiles for attacks deep into Russian territory is false, adding that the US “has nothing to do with these missiles”, reports Reuters.
The American publication The Wall Street Journal (WSJ), citing an unnamed Washington administration official, reported on Wednesday that the Trump administration has lifted restrictions on Ukraine's use of long-range missiles supplied by Western allies.
Trump said in a message published on his social network Truth Social that the information in the WSJ article about “US approval of Ukraine's use of long-range missiles on Russian territory” is false.
“The Wall Street Journal article about US approval of Ukraine's use of long-range missiles on Russian territory is FAKE NEWS! The US has nothing to do with these missiles, regardless of where they come from or how Ukraine uses them!”, the US president wrote.
Trump doesn't want “a waste of time”
On Tuesday, the White House leader said he only wanted to meet Russian President Vladimir Putin when a productive summit could be expected, but did not directly confirm media reports suggesting a planned meeting with his Russian counterpart had been suspended or postponed.
Asked by a reporter what he knew about the alleged change of plans and whether it would affect his position on a potential sale of US Tomahawk cruise missiles to Ukraine, Trump replied: “I don't want to have a wasted meeting.”
Kremlin says preparations for Putin-Trump summit moving ahead after US president says he does not want meeting to be 'a waste of time'
“I don't want to waste time, so I'll see what happens,” Trump added in the Oval Office, according to the DPA and Agerpres agencies.
He noted that no decision had been made yet, but it was unclear whether he was referring to a possible meeting with Putin or the issue of long-range missile sales to Ukraine.
Trump also said he would provide an update in the next two days and reiterated his view that the front lines in Ukraine should be frozen as part of any effort to end the conflict.
Several US publications had previously reported that Trump's planned meeting with Putin in Budapest was looking increasingly uncertain. Politico wrote, citing the White House, that the Budapest meeting is no longer in the works after US Secretary of State Marco Rubio spoke with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov on Monday.
CNN also reported, citing White House sources, that the summit could be delayed, with a preliminary meeting between Rubio and Lavrov – considered a key step before the presidents meet – suspended. And NBC News reported that Monday's talk was “productive” but that officials believe Russia and Ukraine are not ready for serious peace talks. The Washington Post reported that there are no plans for a meeting in the near future.
For his part, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban said on Wednesday that preparations for a meeting in Budapest between US President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin are still underway, Reuters wrote.
Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto “is in Washington. Preparations for the peace summit continue. The date is still uncertain. When the time comes, we will organize it,” Orban wrote on Facebook.
Zelensky: “When Putin heard about Tomahawk missiles, he returned to diplomacy”
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said on Wednesday that negotiations with Russia, based on the current line of contact and the provision of solid security guarantees for Ukraine, are key elements of a peace process, after media reported on a new European proposal for a 12-point truce.
“We are willing to follow the diplomatic path, we support the ceasefire. We are willing to resort to diplomacy, but not to abandon certain areas and hand them over to our aggressor,” Zelenski said in a press conference with Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson in Linkoping (Sweden) when asked about this topic.
“It's not about square kilometers, it's about the homes of our people,” the leader from Kyiv emphasized.
Zelenski referred to the meeting of the so-called “Coalition of the Volunteers” (or “Coalition of the Will”) scheduled to take place in London on Friday, and hinted that the 12-point proposal would be discussed there.
“We must complete the security guarantees for Ukraine,” he stressed, and assured that Vladimir Putin has the “personal will” to destroy and subjugate Ukraine, according to Spanish news agency EFE.
That is why it is necessary to receive guarantees that aggression will not be repeated, Zelenskiy said, alluding to another key element of the plan.
Zelenski stated that last week, during his meeting with Donald Trump at the White House, he discussed this topic for two hours.
“The problem is that we don't see a willingness on the part of Russia,” he said, reiterating what he conveyed to Trump and assured that diplomatic efforts undertaken by Moscow are only aimed at delaying decisions that the US and Europe could take to put pressure on it.
When “Putin heard about the possibility of the US supplying Tomahawk missiles” to Ukraine, he “returned to diplomacy”, but now that this possibility has been ruled out by Washington, his desire “has faded”, Zelenskiy added.
