In an interview with NBC News’ Meet the Press, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy called on Donald Trump to put more pressure on Vladimir Putin and said he was ready to join their upcoming summit in Budapest. Despite the lack of agreement on the transfer of long-range missiles, the president expressed cautious optimism.
In an exclusive interview with NBC News host Kristen Welker, recorded after a meeting with Donald Trump at the White House, Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that the US president should put “even more pressure on Putin than on Hamas,” which Trump helped to reach a truce in Gaza.
“Putin is something similar, but much stronger than Hamas. This war is bigger, and the Russian army is the second most powerful in the world. That is why more pressure is needed,” Zelenskyy said.
The Ukrainian president noted that he hoped to receive Tomahawk long-range missiles to strike Russian territory. Donald Trump did not publicly rule out the possibility of transferring them, but after a phone call with Putin and talks with Zelenskyy in Washington, he refrained from making any specific decisions.
“It’s good that President Trump didn’t say ‘no’, but today he hasn’t said ‘yes’ either,” Zelenskyy commented.
The Russian president warned that the transfer of Tomahawks to Ukraine would be “a qualitatively new stage of escalation.” Zelenskyy responded: “Putin is afraid that the US will transfer Tomahawks to us. And I think he is really afraid that we will use them.”
After talking with Trump, Putin announced a new meeting with the American president in Budapest, where, according to Trump, the parties plan to hold a “second round of negotiations” on ending the war.
Despite his harsh assessments, Zelenskyy expressed his willingness to join these negotiations:
“If we really want a just and lasting peace, both sides of this tragedy are needed. How can there be agreements about us without us?”
When asked if he wanted to be present in Budapest, Zelenskyy replied: “I told President Trump: I am ready.”
The Ukrainian president stressed that he does not intend to give up any territory: “If we want to end the war diplomatically, we must remain where we stand, without giving Putin anything extra.”
He added that negotiations are only possible in a calm atmosphere: “Not under rockets, not under drones.”
Zelenskyy also said that despite new massive attacks by Russia on Ukraine’s energy infrastructure, the situation remains under control:
“We are not losing this war, and Putin will not win. It is precisely because of his weak position on the battlefield that he is intensifying air strikes to create an energy disaster this winter.”
Earlier, Trump said on social media that Ukraine and Russia “should stop where they are” and “it’s time to stop the killing and make a deal.”
When asked if Trump could end the war, Zelenskyy said:
“God bless — yes.”