Donald Trump said on Friday that Washington had not approved any agreement that would allow Ukraine to produce Patriot missiles, although discussions on the issue are continuing.
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Just two days earlier, Volodymyr Zelenskiy had announced that the two sides had reached an agreement, but the US president later changed his position, according to Reuters.
During a meeting with the Ukrainian president in Turkey this month, Trump had expressed willingness to grant Ukraine a license to produce Patriot missile interceptors, which would help the country defend itself against Russian attacks. However, he has backed away from that commitment, despite hosting Zelenskiy at the White House this week.
At a Cabinet meeting held on Friday, the US president was asked about the Patriot missiles and stressed that concerns remain over providing another country with advanced US weapons, including missile technology.
Trump described this as a major step and said Zelenskiy had asked him for several Patriot missiles, as well as some Tomahawks, which he described as deadly. The US president said these were offensive and defensive weapons, requiring restraint and great caution. He reiterated that no approval had been given, although talks were continuing, arguing that it was difficult to transfer such technology to another country. According to him, this was unlikely ever to happen, because countries or individuals that receive the technology could one day turn against those who gave it to them.
