Zelenskyy says his meeting with Trump was ‘positive’ though he didn’t get the Tomahawk missiles

By SAMYA KULLAB Associated Press KYIV Ukraine AP Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy says his reportedly tense meeting with U S President Donald Trump last week was positive even though he did not secure the Tomahawk missiles for Ukraine and emphasized what he revealed is continued American interest in economic deals with Kyiv Zelenskyy explained Trump reneged on the possibility of sending the long-range missiles to Ukraine which would have been a major boost for Kyiv following his phone call with Russian President Vladimir Putin hours before the Ukrainian leader and American president were to meet on Friday Related Articles Trump suggests US will buy Argentinian beef to bring down prices for American consumers Boston Common hosts No Kings rally protesting President Trump Battenfeld No Kings march funded by special interests not grassroots Lucas Vile comments have no place in politics Trump offers US automakers additional relief from his tariffs In my opinion he does not want an escalation with the Russians until he meets with them Zelenskyy explained reporters on Sunday His comments were embargoed until Monday morning Ukraine is hoping to purchase Patriot air defense systems from American firms using frozen Russian assets and assistance from partners but Zelenskyy disclosed procuring all of these would require time because of long production queues He disclosed he spoke to Trump about help procuring these quicker potentially from European partners According to Zelenskyy Trump explained during their meeting that Putin s maximalist demand that Ukraine cede the entirety of Ukraine s eastern Donetsk and Luhansk regions was unchanged Zelenskyy was diplomatic about his meeting with Trump despite reports that he faced pressure to accept Putin s demands a tactic he has kept up since the disastrous Oval Office spat on Feb when the Ukrainian president was scolded on live television for not being grateful for continued American advocacy Zelenskyy revealed that because Trump ultimately supported a freeze along the current front line his overall message is positive for Ukraine He mentioned Trump was looking to end the war and hopes his meeting in the coming weeks with Putin in Hungary which does not advocacy Ukraine will pave the way for a peace deal after their first summit in Alaska in August failed to reach such an outcome So far Zelenskyy disclosed he has not been invited to attend but would consider it if the format for talks were fair to Kyiv We share President Trump s positive outlook if it leads to the end of the war After multiple rounds of discussion over more than two hours with him and his squad his message in my view is positive that we stand where we stand on the line of contact provided all sides understand what is meant Zelenskyy reported Zelenskyy expressed doubts about Hungary s capital of Budapest being a suitable location for the next Trump-Putin meeting I do not consider Budapest to be the best venue for such a meeting Obviously if it can bring peace it will not matter which country hosts the meeting he added Zelenskyy took a stab at Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban saying he doe not believe that a prime minister who blocks Ukraine everywhere can do anything positive for Ukrainians or even provide a balanced contribution Zelenskyy also expressed skepticism about Putin s proposal to swap various territory it holds in Kherson and Zaporizhzhia regions if Ukraine surrenders all of Donetsk and Luhansk regions We sought to understand exactly what the Russians meant So far there is no clear position he reported Zelenskyy revealed he thinks that all parties have moved closer to a attainable end to the war That doesn t mean it will definitely end but President Trump has achieved a lot in the Middle East and riding that wave he wants to end Russia s war against Ukraine Zelenskyy added He announced the United States is interested in bilateral gas projects with Ukraine including the construction of an LNG terminal in the southern port city of Odesa Other projects of interest to the U S include those related to nuclear power and oil