Moreover, this is Zelensky's first visit to Washington since the infamous meeting at the White House in late February, when a dispute erupted in the Oval Office between the Ukrainian president and top US officials. At that time, Trump stated that"Zelensky will only be able to return to Washington when he is truly ready for peace."

Zelensky arrived in Washington on Sunday evening. In a post on social media, the Ukrainian president thanked Trump for the invitation and expressed his desire to end the war as soon as possible. Zelensky stressed that Russia should do this first.

"We all equally want to end this war quickly and reliably. And the peace must be lasting. Not like it was years ago, when Ukraine was forced to give up Crimea and part of our east - part of Donbas - and Putin simply used it as a springboard for a new attack. Or when in 1994 Ukraine was given supposedly"security guarantees", but it didn't work," Zelensky reminded.

"Russia must end this war that it started. And I hope that our joint strength with America, with our European friends, will force Russia to make real peace," the Ukrainian president added.