MOSCOW ( WNAM MONITORING): Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday told his US counterpart Donald Trump in a phone call that potential long-range Tomahawk cruise missile deliveries to Ukraine will damage ties between Moscow and Washington.
“Putin reiterated his thesis that Tomahawk missiles will not change the situation on the battlefield, but will cause significant damage to relations between our countries, not to mention the prospects for a peaceful settlement (in Ukraine),” Russian presidential aide Yuri Ushakov told journalists in a briefing.
Noting that the nearly two-and-a-half-hour conversation was “very substantive, yet also extremely frank and confidential,” Ushakov said that particular emphasis was placed on the Ukraine war during the talks, in which Putin gave Trump a “detailed assessment of the current situation.”
Ushakov said the US was told that Moscow has “complete strategic initiative” along the front line in Ukraine, and that Trump repeatedly emphasized the need for a swift peace in the war-torn country.
“One of the American president’s key points was that ending the conflict in Ukraine would open up enormous —he emphasized it — prospects for developing economic cooperation between the United States and Russia,” Ushakov also said.
He went on to say the two presidents, in this context, discussed the possibility of holding another face-to-face meeting, and agreed that the representatives of both sides will immediately begin preparing for a summit, with the Hungarian capital Budapest as a potential venue.
Putin and Trump last met in August during a historic summit in the US state of Alaska, but diplomatic momentum to end the ongoing Ukraine war has stalled in the ensuing months, prompting Trump to work with NATO allies to ramp up pressure on Moscow, including compelling nations to halt all purchases of Russian oil.
The US president wrote on his Truth Social platform following the call with his Russian counterpart that he and Putin will meet in Hungary to discuss an end to the over three-and-a-half-year war after high-level delegations meet next week.
The call between Putin and Trump comes as the latter is set to host Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Friday at the White House, with Zelenskyy highlighting air defense and long-range capabilities being the main topics on the agenda.
