US President Donald Trump’s announcement that he spoke by phone with Russian President Vladimir Putin, during which they agreed to meet in Hungary, came as a surprise to President Vladimir Zelenskiy, who had just arrived in Washington, the Axios news portal wrote.
According to the article, Zelensky, who arrived in Washington on Thursday afternoon, had been very optimistic in recent days about his upcoming meeting with President Trump and the president’s willingness to supply long-range Tomahawk missiles.
“However, shortly after landing at Andrews Air Force Base, the Ukrainian President and his team were surprised to see President Trump’s announcement that he had spoken with President Vladimir Putin and agreed to meet in Hungary, the least Ukraine-friendly country in the European Union,” the report said.
The portal said that during his visit, President Zelensky will also meet with the heads of major US defense companies Raytheon and Lockheed Martin.
On Friday, President Trump is scheduled to host Vladimir Zelensky at the White House. Earlier, US leaders said they would ask President Zelenskiy to allow the delivery of Tomahawks to their country.
After speaking by phone with President Putin on Thursday, President Trump said the two leaders had agreed to meet soon in the Hungarian capital. The US leader then explained that talks could take place within the next two weeks.
MNA/