The meeting takes place in an informal atmosphere during lunch.

It is believed that the talks will discuss Russia's war against Ukraine, peace talks with Moscow, and the supply of new weapons to Kiev, including possible supplies of Tomahawk cruise missiles.

Responding to reporters' questions before the talks, Trump said that the two presidents plan to discuss new options that would allow Ukraine to strike back at Russia.

"Yes, that's what we'll talk about. It's an escalation, but we'll discuss it," the White House host said.

He, however, said that it would be premature to hand over the Tomahawk missiles to Ukraine, as he hoped to reach peace with Russia before then.

"Hopefully they (the Ukrainians) won't need them. Hopefully we'll end the war without thinking about Tomahawks," Trump told reporters.

He also stated that both Putin and Zelensky wanted an end to the war."Now we have to do it," the US president added.

However, Zelensky contradicted Trump's statement, stating that he believed Putin was not ready to end the war.

In response to a question from an AFP journalist, Trump acknowledged that Putin wanted to stall for time by agreeing to another summit, but added that he believed in the Russian dictator's desire to reach an agreement to end the war.

Later in the meeting, Trump said that his planned meeting with Putin in Budapest would likely take place face-to-face, without Zelensky's direct presence.

However, he indicated that at the same time he wanted to maintain contact with the Ukrainian president.

"There is a lot of blood between the two presidents (Zelensky and Putin) (..), and I am not revealing a secret when I say that the situation is very, very difficult," the US president said.