In an interview with the Financial Times on Thursday, Trump said that the US is still looking into whether it will license Ukraine to build Patriot missiles, a seeming reversal from his July 8 public comments at the NATO summit:
“It’s a very extraordinary weapon, and...we have to be a little bit careful of who we license to (sic). We don’t really license equipment.”
Trump reportedly made similar comments just before a Cabinet meeting on Friday, telling reporters, “You have to be very judicious, but you have to be very careful. Now, we have not agreed to that. We’re talking about it. But it’s a hard thing to give away that kind of technology.”
This is coming just days after Trump met Zelensky at the White House, after which Zelensky said that Trump “accepted that he will give us licences.” Trump told FT that he’s “not sure.”
Trump added, “Very simply put, we want the war in Ukraine with Russia ended. I’m not looking for missiles. We’re looking for peace.” Kushner and Witkoff would, he said, be making a trip to Kiev for the first time over the next few days. No official date has been given for such a visit.
