US President Donald Trump said that Russia wanted to end its war in Ukraine, but President Volodymyr Zelenskyy instead suggested that Moscow sought to pursue its invasion.
Meeting Zelenskyy at the White House on Friday, Trump said President Vladimir Putin "wants to end the war," after Zelenskyy said that the Russian leader was "not ready" for peace.
Trump suggested it would be premature to give Tomahawk missiles to Ukraine, saying that he hoped to secure peace with Russia first.
"Hopefully they won't need it. Hopefully we'll be able to get the war over with without thinking about Tomahawks," Trump told journalists.
Trump added that he was confident of getting Russian President Vladimir Putin to end the invasion he launched in 2022, following a phone call with the Kremlin chief a day earlier.
The US and Russian presidents agreed on Thursday to a new summit in the Hungarian capital Budapest, which would be their first since an August meeting in Alaska that failed to produce any kind of peace deal.
"I think that President Putin wants to end the war," Trump said.
But Zelenskyy, who wore a dark suit for his third meeting with Trump in Washington since the US president's return to power, demurred, saying that Putin was "not ready" for peace.
Ukraine has been lobbying Washington for Tomahawks for weeks, arguing that the missiles could help put pressure on Russia to end its brutal three-and-a-half year invasion.
But on the eve of Zelenskyy's visit, Putin warned Trump in a call against delivering the weapons, saying it could escalate the war and jeopardise peace talks.
Trump said the United States had to be careful to not "deplete" its own supplies of Tomahawks, which have a range of over 1,600 kilometres (1,000 miles).
'Many questions'
Diplomatic talks on ending Russia's invasion have stalled since the Alaska summit.
But Trump, who once said he could end the war in Ukraine within 24 hours, appears set on pursuing a breakthrough to follow the Gaza ceasefire deal that he brokered last week.
The Kremlin said Friday that "many questions" needed resolving before Putin and Trump could meet, including who would be on each negotiating team.
But it brushed off suggestions Putin would have difficulty flying over European airspace.
Hungary said it would ensure Putin could enter and "hold successful talks" with the US despite an International Criminal Court (ICC) arrest warrant against him for alleged war crimes.
"Budapest is the only suitable place in Europe for a USA–Russia peace summit," Hungarian President Viktor Orban said on X on Friday.
Trump frustration
Zelenskyy's visit to Washington, Ukraine's main military backer, will be his third since Trump returned to office.
During this time, Trump's position on the Ukraine war has shifted dramatically back and forth.
At the start of his term, Trump and Putin reached out to each other as the US leader derided Zelenskyy as a "dictator without elections."
Tensions came to a head in February, when Trump accused his Ukrainian counterpart of "not having the cards" in a rancorous televised meeting at the Oval Office.
Relations between the two have since warmed as Trump has expressed growing frustration with Putin.
But Trump has kept a channel of dialogue open with Putin, saying that they "get along."
The US leader has repeatedly changed his position on sanctions and other steps against Russia following calls with the Russian president.
