Zelenskyy Meets Trump at the White House to Talk Peace (updating)

On October 17, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy arrived at the White House for scheduled talks with U.S. President Donald Trump.

The Gaze reports on it, referring to CNN.

During a briefing before the talks, Trump said he was confident he could persuade Russian President Vladimir Putin to end the war in Ukraine, adding that both sides want to end this. He said he had a two-and-a-half-hour conversation with Putin, during which they discussed the details of a potential settlement. 

A meeting between Trump and Putin is scheduled to take place in Budapest in the near future, but the American leader stressed that he would remain in contact with Zelenskyy and act as a “mediator” between the two presidents.

Volodymyr Zelenskyy, for his part, stressed that the most important thing for Ukraine is to obtain real security guarantees, in particular NATO membership and arms supplies from allies. 

“The most important thing for people in Ukraine, (who) are under each days attacks, (is) to have really strong security guarantees. NATO is the best, but weapon is very important. Allies on our side is very important,” Zelenskyy said.

During the briefing at the White House, Tomahawk long-range missiles were also mentioned.

Trump confirmed that this topic would be among the key issues during the negotiations, acknowledging that it involved potential escalation, but noting that the U.S. was ready to “talk about it.”

Volodymyr Zelenskyy, in turn, stressed that Kyiv urgently needs Tomahawk missiles to strengthen its ability to strike deep into Russian territory. He offered the United States a kind of exchange — Ukrainian drones for American cruise missiles.

“Ukraine has thousands of our production drones, but we don't have Tomahawks. That's why we need Tomahawks,” he said. “They (the U.S.) can have our thousands of drones, that's where we can work together.”

Humanitarian issues were also discussed during the briefing. Trump said that First Lady Melania Trump is actively involved in reuniting Ukrainian children who were separated from their parents during the war. Over the past day, eight children have been returned to their families, and the parties agreed to continue this work.

In addition, Zelenskyy thanked American energy companies that are “ready to help” Ukraine rebuild its energy infrastructure after Russian attacks. He also said that negotiations are ongoing with American defense companies to strengthen the air defense system.

Following the White House talks, Zelenskyy commented on key issues.

After the meeting at the White House, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that talks with U.S. President Donald Trump had been “productive.” At the same time, on Truth Social, President Trump called his meeting with Zelenskyy “very interesting, and cordial.”

The leaders discussed a wide range of issues, including air defense and bilateral security guarantees for Ukraine.

Zelenskyy noted that the issue of long-range weapons was raised during the conversation, but he would not comment on it because the U.S. “does not want escalation.” He added that Trump told him, “We need them.” Nevertheless, according to Zelenskyy, the topic is still under discussion.

“I think that Russia is afraid about Tomahawks. Really afraid,” he said.

At the same time, the Ukrainian leader stressed that the U.S. must remain a key partner in matters of Ukraine's defense capabilities.

"We want United States be a part of security,” Zelenskyy noted.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy commented on Russia's proposal to exchange territories, noting that this is a very sensitive issue and will be a difficult stage in the negotiation process. He stressed that there is currently no reason to claim that Moscow has changed its position, as no meetings have been held to discuss this.

At the same time, Zelenskyy supported U.S. President Donald Trump's view that it is important to “stop where we are” and start a dialogue, emphasizing the need for constructive discussion of further steps to achieve peace.

As The Gaze reported earlier, U.S. President Donald Trump announced plans to meet Russian President Vladimir Putin in Budapest.