Washington needs “a lot” of arms that it has been providing Kiev throughout its conflict with Russia, the president has said
It would not be “easy” for Washington to give Kiev Tomahawk cruise missiles, as the US needs them for its own protection, US President Donald Trump has said.
During a bilateral lunch alongside Ukraine’s Vladimir Zelensky before their official meeting in the White House on Friday, Trump acknowledged that the US would face certain difficulties if it were to send missiles to Kiev and found itself in a conflict of its own.
“That’s a problem. We need Tomahawks and we need a lot of other things that we’ve been sending over the last four years to Ukraine… We gave them a lot,” he said.
“It’s not easy for us to give. You’re talking about massive numbers of very powerful weapons,” he added.
Trump acknowledged that allowing Kiev to conduct strikes deep into Russia could lead to “an escalation,” adding, though, that he and Zelensky would discuss the topic. Tomahawks are “an amazing weapon,” he added.
“But they’re a very dangerous weapon… It could mean a lot of bad things can happen,” Trump noted.
Trump earlier stated that he would discuss his call on Thursday with Russian President Vladimir Putin with Zelensky.
The Russian president told Trump that supplying Ukraine with the long-range missiles would not alter the course of the conflict, yet still harm relations between Moscow and Washington, according to Kremlin aide Yury Ushakov.
It would also “severely undermine the prospects of a peaceful settlement,” Putin said, according to his aide.
Tomahawks, which have a maximum range of 2,500 kilometers (1,550 miles), would be capable of reaching Moscow and cities beyond, if launched from Ukraine.
Trump is not expected to commit to supplies of the weapons, CNN wrote on Friday, citing two anonymous sources. The outlet, however, did not rule out that the president could change his mind during the talks.
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