Putin's call to Trump did not affect talks with Zelenskyy at the White House, Klimkin says

A call from the Russian dictator Vladimir Putin with the head of the United States Donald Trump on October 16 did not affect the talks with the president Volodymyr Zelenskyy in the White House. This opinion was expressed by Pavlo Klimkin, minister of Foreign Affairs (2014-2019) and analyst, in the new issue of "Klimkin Explains" on the LIGA.net YouTube channel.

Klimkin noted that with his call, Putin partially succeeded in knocking down the momentum of talk of raising rates in the US pressure on Russia, including over Tomahawk.

However, the analyst noted that the conversation with Putin did not affect the atmosphere of the meeting between the heads of Ukraine and the US and this negotiations themselves: "Trump was quite cautious."

When asked whether the US president had intended to approve the transfer of Tomahawk missiles even before his call with the dictator, the former minister replied that the conversation about these missiles was "a story of rhetorical and tactical pressure."

"But this conversation itself, politically, creates real pressure on Putin. And this is its value for us. Will Trump ever go crazy, in a good way, of course, and give us Tomahawk? I don't rule it out, but it will be obvious at a later stage," Klimkin explained.

He also believes that although the US president has not yet made a decision on the Tomahawk transfer, and Putin is aware of this, the very talk of these weapons means that there are no longer any conventional taboos regarding assistance to Ukraine.

According to the analyst, Trump is not ready to transfer such missiles as of today, but talking about it is a "very positive story" for Ukraine and the United States.

The full issue is available at the link at the beginning of the news or below:

• On October 17 Zelenskyy said after meeting with Trump that no one has canceled the Tomahawk supply issue.
• Also, the head of Ukraine reported that Trump did not say "no" but did not agree to the transfer of Tomahawk during the meeting.
• Axios' interlocutors said Trump told his Ukrainian counterpart that does not intend to provide Kyiv Tomahawks, at least at this moment.