I think what this looks like is Trump sits down, he says to the Russians, the Ukrainians, the Europeans: You guys need to figure out. What does a peaceful settlement look like? And what it probably looks like is the current line of demarcation between Russia and Ukraine, that becomes like a demilitarized zone,
A hallmark of what we've done from day one – in fact, even before day one – of the Russian aggression against Ukraine in 2022 was to try to make sure Ukraine has what it needs when it needs it to deal with that aggression
There are a lot of risks to us of staying there and trying to encourage the Ukrainians to hold on to Crimea. The question is: how many American lives will it cost to do that? And if the answer is more than zero – I’m out,
There are a lot of targets in Russia, a big country, obviously,
Easing the restrictions on Western weapons will not cause Moscow to escalate,
These are strategic meetings to discuss Ukraine and to discuss the Middle East, and so it'll be at that level of strategic discussion that we'll be involved in tomorrow with the president,
This would in a significant way change the very nature of the conflict. It would mean that NATO countries, the US, European countries, are at war with Russia,
I don’t believe one capability is going to be decisive, and I stand by that comment,
This is obviously deeply concerning,
I want the war to stop."
There are really important developments likely in the next few weeks and months, both in Ukraine and the Middle East, and therefore a number of tactical decisions ought to be taken,
Russia started this conflict. Russia illegally invaded Ukraine. Russia can end this conflict straight away. Ukraine has the right to self-defence.”
Ultimately that’s a discussion that has to be led by President Zelenskiy,
She will be in other parts of the US,
If restrictions placed on a weapon that doesn’t use missiles are removed, that is not a lifting of restrictions. That is a different way to withhold a positive decision on the use of the appropriate weapons,
The involvement of the U.S. and European states in the conflict around Ukraine is direct, immediate, and each new step increases the level of this involvement."
One of the purposes of the trip that we'll be taking together is to hear directly from the Ukrainian leadership, including [President Volodymyr] Zelensky, about exactly how the Ukrainians see their needs, in this moment, to what objectives, and what we can do to support those needs,
So all I can tell you is we'll be listening intently to our Ukrainian partners. We'll both be reporting back to the prime minister [Keir Starmer], to President Biden, in the coming days, and I fully anticipate this is something they will take up when they meet on Friday,
This can be assumed with a high degree of probability,
Unfortunately it doesn’t depend on my optimism, it depends on their optimism,