Donald Trump's peace deal in Gaza was signed at a summit in Egypt. Photo / Getty Images
Donald Trump is preparing to arm Ukraine with long-range Tomahawk missiles as he turns his attention to ending its war with Russia.
The US President was lavished with praise for bringing peace to the Middle East during a jubilant visit to Israel on Monday.
World leaders used a subsequent summit in Sharm El-Sheikh to back Trump to solve the conflict in Ukraine. The US President will meet Volodymyr Zelenskyy at the White House on Friday (local time).
The two leaders are due to discuss their “visions” for how the long-range Tomahawk missile could bring Russian President Vladimir Putin to the negotiating table, according to Zelenskyy.
“The main topics will be air defence and our long-range capabilities, to maintain pressure on Russia,” the Ukrainian leader said.
Trump threatened to deliver the Tomahawks to Kyiv if Putin continued to stifle any hope of peace talks.
He has recently ramped up intelligence-sharing with Ukrainian forces to assist their long-range strikes on Russian energy targets, increasing pressure on Russia’s stuttering economy.
Trump touched down in Tel Aviv on Monday to celebrate the release of 20 Israeli hostages as part of the ceasefire between Israel and Hamas.
After declaring lasting peace, he jetted off to Egypt to meet world leaders for the signing of the first phase of a White House deal to bring an end to the war in Gaza.
In a speech to Israel’s Parliament, Trump said he would now focus his efforts on brokering a deal to end the war between Ukraine and Russia.
He told the Knesset it “would be great if we could make a peace deal” with Iran but “first, we have to get Russia done ... let’s focus on Russia first, we’ll get it done.”
With the war in Gaza over, Trump has claimed to have ended eight conflicts since taking office in the White House in late January.
However, a deal to end the three-and-a-half-year fight between Ukraine and Russia has eluded him and remains problematic. Trump has struggled for leverage in a deal with Putin.
But he extolled the White House policy of “peace through strength” in the Middle East on Monday, leading to renewed hope.
Zelenskyy said the US President’s Israel-Hamas deal “brings more hope” to other regions suffering from war.
“We are working so that the day of peace comes for Ukraine as well. Russian aggression remains the last global source of destabilisation and if a ceasefire and peace have been achieved for the Middle East, the leadership and determination of global actors can certainly work for us too,” the Ukrainian President wrote on social media.
His Prime Minister and top aide flew to Washington on Monday (local time) to begin “high-level talks to strengthen Ukraine’s defence, secure our energy resilience and intensify sanctions pressure on the aggressor”.
With speculation mounting that Trump could ship Tomahawks to Ukraine, Zelenskyy is expected to present him with a lengthy list of Russian military targets that could be struck with the missiles.
Kyiv hopes the weapon will be able to disrupt Moscow’s ability to wage war by severing logistical routes and destroying missile and drone factories.
Tomahawks have a range of around 2400km, which would put such targets comfortably within range.
Zelenskyy has previously claimed the missile would pressure Putin to the negotiating table to discuss a ceasefire.
The provision of Tomahawks would mark a major escalation in American support and a hardening of Trump’s stance against Putin.
Trump said sending the missile to Kyiv would mark a “new step of aggression”.
His predecessor, Joe Biden, had rebuffed Ukraine’s requests for Tomahawks.
“I might say, look, if this war’s not going to get settled, I’m going to send them Tomahawks,” Trump said on his flight to Israel.
“I might have to speak to Russia, to be honest with you, about Tomahawks. Do they want to have Tomahawks going in their direction? I don’t think so.”
Referring to Putin, Trump said: “I might tell him that if the war is not settled that we may very well do it.”
Since the two leaders’ landmark meeting in Alaska, Trump has become increasingly frustrated with his Russian counterpart for refusing to engage in meaningful negotiations with Kyiv.
Trump’s threat followed phone calls between himself and Zelensky, with the two leaders becoming increasingly aligned from the low point of their public spat at the White House earlier this year.
Moscow has warned the White House against providing Tomahawks, saying the move would effectively sever relations with Washington.
On Sunday (local time), Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said the missiles were of “extreme concern” to Russia, adding: “Tensions are escalating from all sides.”
Moscow would not be able to tell if the missiles were carrying nuclear warheads if they were launched at its territory, he claimed, asking: “Just how should Russia react?”
Putin and his top officials have refrained from directly criticising Trump over the missiles in the hope they can still convince him to back down.
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