WASHINGTON, Oct 18, (Xinhua): US President Donald Trump met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky at the White House on Friday, but ruled out a US-Russia-Ukraine summit in the near future. Speaking alongside Zelensky before their talks, Trump said his planned meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Hungary would be only a "double meeting," citing "a lot of bad blood" between Moscow and Kiev.

Asked about providing US-made Tomahawk cruise missiles, a focal point of Washington's tactics on the Russia-Ukraine conflict, Trump said the United States also needs the weapons itself, warning that transferring them to Ukraine could trigger "big escalation" of the conflict. "We'd much rather have them not need Tomahawks. Would much rather have the war be over," Trump said.

"We want Tomahawks also. We don't want to be giving away things that we need to protect our country," he added. When asked whether Ukraine would need to trade land for peace, Trump replied: "You never know." Zelensky said there is momentum to end the Russia-Ukraine conflict following the Gaza ceasefire, but he accused Moscow of refusing to return to negotiations and urged Washington to keep pressure on Russia.

"President Trump has a big chance now to finish this war," said Zelensky, stressing that having security guarantees is the "most important thing for people in Ukraine." "NATO is the best, but weapon is very important. Allies on our side is very important," Zelensky said. He added that American energy companies are ready to help Ukraine following recent Russian attacks on his country's energy infrastructure.