According to Ushakov, Putin told Trump supplying the missiles “would not change the situation on the battlefield but would cause significant damage to relations between the two countries.” He said the conversation, which lasted nearly two and a half hours, was “very substantive and extremely candid.”
The U.S. president previously described the call as “productive,” announcing that he and Putin made plans to meet in Budapest, Hungary, in the coming weeks. The summit will be preceded by a meeting of senior U.S. and Russian officials to set the agenda.
Meanwhile, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy arrived in Washington and will meet with Trump at the White House on Oct. 17. The two are expected to discuss ways to pressure Putin into negotiations, including through the delivery of Tomahawk missiles to Kyiv. The Financial Times reported that the United States may supply Ukraine with 20 to 50 missiles.