US President Donald Trump's announcement of a phone call with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin and their agreement to meet in Budapest came as a surprise to Volodymyr Zelensky, who arrived in Washington, writes the American portal Axios.
The article notes that Zelensky, who arrived in Washington on Thursday evening, was very optimistic about the upcoming meeting with Trump and the US's readiness to supply Ukraine with Tomahawk cruise missiles. “But shortly after landing at Andrews Air Force Base in Maryland, the Ukrainian delegation “was surprised by Trump's announcement that he had spoken with Vladimir Putin and agreed to meet with him in Hungary – "the EU country most hostile to Ukraine," the article notes.
According to the portal, Zelensky also plans to meet with the heads of major US military concerns Raytheon and Lockheed Martin during his visit.
Trump and Zelensky are scheduled to meet at the White House on Friday. The American leader previously announced that his interlocutor would request the deployment of "Tomahawk" missiles in Ukraine.
On Thursday, after a phone conversation with Putin, Trump announced that they had agreed to meet soon in the Hungarian capital. Later, the US president specified that the meeting could take place within the next two weeks.