It seems like a recreation of diplomatic chess.
Simply earlier than one other assembly with the Ukrainian president on the White Home on Friday, Donald Trump telephoned the Russian one.
Amid hypothesis that the US may give Ukraine entry to Tomahawk cruise missiles, one thing has shifted on the board.
Ukraine warfare newest: Trump and Putin agree location to satisfy once more
The prospect of extra army assist for Kyiv might have been the catalyst for Russia’s return to the desk.
Excessive-level officers from Washington and Moscow will meet subsequent week.
Mr Trump and Vladimir Putin, who final got here face-to-face in Alaska two months in the past, will meet once more quickly in Budapest, Hungary.
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3:11
Trump-Putin name ‘good and productive’
Requested if the US president nonetheless believes he can get Mr Putin and Volodymyr Zelenskyy collectively quickly, White Home press secretary Karoline Leavitt mentioned: “I think he thinks it’s possible, and he would, of course, love to see that happen.”
However there’s at the moment no plan for the Ukrainian chief to hitch Trump and Putin in Hungary, and that will probably be a priority for Kyiv and its European allies.
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30:28
Gaza peace plan & Ukraine warfare: Q&A
How does name affect Ukraine’s Tomahawk request?
It is tough to envisage the US granting Ukraine’s request for Tomahawk cruise missiles in opposition to the backdrop of those diplomatic manoeuvres.
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1:17
Donald Trump beforehand recommended he may ship Tomahawk missiles to Ukraine
Mr Trump had already achieved a handbrake flip, from telling Mr Zelenksyy “you don’t have the cards” to suggesting Ukraine may win again all its land.
Now he seems to be trying within the rear view mirror, again to the Alaskan summit, the place his hopes of brokering a ceasefire had been dashed.
He is expressing hope that the top of the warfare within the Center East may have a knock-on impact in Ukraine – one man on a mission to finish two wars.
