VOLODYMYR Zelensky said he would join Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin for crunch talks in Hungary if he was invited.
It comes after the US president warned the wartime leader that Putin would “destroy” Ukraine if he didn’t agree to the Russian tyrant‘s terms.
Trump and Putin are set to meet in Budapest in the coming weeks as part of the Don’s latest bid to end the raging war in Ukraine.
Zelensky said of the upcoming summit: “If I am invited to Budapest – if it is an invitation in a format where we meet as three… we will agree.”
He said he would also visit Budapest if Trump acted as a mediator so that the two enemies did not have to meet face-to-face.
Zelensky blasted Hungary – Ukraine’s most outspoken critic in the EU and Nato – as a meeting point for the summit.
Referring to Hungarian leader Viktor Orban, Zel said: “I do not believe that a prime minister who blocks Ukraine everywhere can do anything positive for Ukrainians or even provide a balanced contribution.”
Kyiv has said it is ready to take part in any trilateral summit between Zelensky, Putin and Trump in a number of neutral countries, including Turkey, Switzerland and the Vatican.
But the choice of Budapest for the upcoming talks will leave a sour taste in the mouths of many Ukrainians.
Many are still haunted by the 1994 agreement made in the same city – where Moscow promised security for a freshly independent Ukraine in exchange for giving up its nuclear arms.
Against the backdrop of today’s current war, the Budapest Memorandum serves as a reminder of Russia’s countless hollow promises.
Zelensky said: “Another ‘Budapest’ scenario wouldn’t be positive either.”
The Ukrainian leader’s comments come after he left Washington empty-handed following weeks of speculation that Trump may have been about to hand him prized Tomahawk missiles.
Zelensky was bashed by Trump in their third White House meetup for not accepting territorial losses.
The Don was even overheard “cursing all the time” during a heated exchange in the Oval Office, people familiar with the matter told the Financial Times.
The fiery exchange was reminiscent of the pair’s head-to-head in February when Trump and his Vice President JD Vance laid into Zelensky for what he was wearing and his attitude.
This time around he was prepared to plead with the US president for more military support so Ukraine could continue to stand up to Vladimir Putin‘s aggression.
The Ukrainian leader was looking to secure the much-hyped Tomahawk weapons, which would give Ukraine the power to strike deep inside Russia.
Zelensky offered Trump “thousands of drones” in exchange for the missiles but was refused on the grounds that these would drive a “dangerous escalation” in the war.
The meeting then reportedly grew so fraught that Trump dramatically pushed aside maps of Ukraine‘s frontline which a defiant Zelensky had brought with him.
Trump warned Zelensky that “Putin will destroy you” if the conflict worsens, according to a European official briefed on the talks.
He also insisted the wartime chief surrender the entire Donbas region to the tyrant and agree to his terms to end the bloody war, the Financial Times reports.
Zelensky reportedly replied: “Putin doesn’t want peace. That’s why we need pressure on him”.
The pair ended up back on the same page shortly after their bust-up, it is believed.
The Ukrainian delegation convinced Trump to push for a ceasefire which pauses the frontline as they currently are.
This means they would not have to hand any more territory over to Putin.
Speaking from the White House Cabinet Room later, Zelensky declared: “President Trump has a big opportunity to end this war.”
He again mentioned the game-changing Tomahawk missiles, adding: “That’s where we can work together.”
Trump replied: “Hopefully we’ll be able to get the war over without talking about Tomahawks.”
The long-range missiles have a maximum range of 2,500km with warheads that weigh almost half a ton – and military experts say they would be a “game changer” for Kyiv.
Kyiv sees them as a critical deterrent — one capable of crippling Russian supply lines and destroying missile and drone factories far behind enemy lines.
Some believed Trump was poised to grant Zelensky the weapons, but a last-minute phone call with Putin may have changed his mind.
Trump hailed the chat as “productive” as he announced he would meet Putin in-person in Hungary within the next fortnight.
Pariah Putin faces humiliating 2,000 mile detour to get to crunch Trump talks
By Harvey Geh, Foreign News Reporter
VLADIMIR Putin faces a gruelling 2,000 mile detour ducking wartorn Ukraine and its staunchest allies to reach Donald Trump for crunch talks in Hungary.
The Russian pariah’s long and winding road to Budapest will see him dodge Nato and EU airspace as he ventures behind enemy lines to meet the US president.
With no clear way through the highly monitored Baltic states or a fiery Poland, the dictator is set to take what he hopes will be a scenic route to reach Hungary.
The backdoor path is believed to have roughly doubled the distance, with the flight now stretching to an estimated 2,000 miles which could take up to five hours.
And if he wishes to land safely in the Budapest without facing the International Criminal Court, Putin will need to also avoid the looming arrest warrant on his head.
And the US is also expected to play a key role in getting Putin face-to-face with Trump for the high-stakes talks, John Foreman CBE said.
The former UK Defence Attaché to Moscow told The Sun: “I think we can draw various routes on a map – but the key point is that the US will put enormous pressure on smaller, Orthodox, Nato countries in the Balkans to allow Putin through under diplomatic flight clearance.”
The most likely route Putin will take will be a marathon stretch from Russia to Turkey, then to Greece, over North Macedonia and Serbia, and then finally to Hungary, Foreman suggested.
Going over Montenegro and then into Serbia from the Adriatic Sea would be a very similar alternative path.
And international security expert Anthony Glees agreed that Putin would have to take a drawn out route to reach Trump.
He outlined a similar flight to the war-ridden Black Sea before circling round a ring of countries reaching Hungary.