Today at 17:04
U.S. President Donald Trump stated that he would not allow the war in Ukraine to escalate into a global conflict.
He said this during a press conference at the White House on October 16.
Speaking to journalists, Trump revealed details of his recent phone conversation with Russian ruler Vladimir Putin and his plans to meet him in Hungary. According to Trump, the talks are aimed at finding ways to end the war.
“I walked into this situation — I didn’t start this war. This is Biden’s thing. I came in, and it was a total mess that could have led to World War III. In my view, that could have happened. But it will not,” Trump emphasized.
He noted that his goal is to “save lives” and promote peace in Europe. According to him, the Biden administration made strategic mistakes that led to Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, while such aggression would not have happened under his presidency.
“I’m doing this to save souls. That’s all I’m doing it for. I’m not doing it for us — there’s an ocean between us. But I want to help Europe. They want the war to end, but they can’t make it happen. And I can,” Trump said.
The U.S. president also addressed the relationship between the leaders of Ukraine and Russia, calling it “terrible,” which, he said, complicates efforts to arrange joint meetings. He confirmed that he discussed the supply of Tomahawk missiles to Ukraine with Putin, noting that the Russian ruler was “not very happy” about the idea.
President Trump added that while the United States has many Tomahawk missiles, they are also needed domestically.
“We also need the Tomahawks for the United States of America. We have a lot of them, but we need them. We can’t drain our country. They’re very important. They’re very powerful. They’re very precise. They’re very good. But we need them too,” Trump said.
He added that his October 16 conversation with Vladimir Putin was “good.”
“I asked him about the Tomahawks for Ukraine — ‘You don’t mind if I give a few thousand Tomahawks to your opponent, do you?’ He didn’t like the idea,” Trump said with a laugh.
He also noted that his meeting with Putin in Hungary is expected to take place “fairly soon,” likely within two weeks.
“Marco Rubio, as you know, will meet with his counterpart Lavrov, and that meeting will happen very soon,” the U.S. president added.
