President Volodymyr Zelensky landed in Washington on Oct. 16 for Friday talks with US President Donald Trump which were slated to advance discussions on potential supplies of long-range Tomahawk missiles to Ukraine.

Zelensky announced his arrival on social media shortly after a surprise phone call between Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin, which led to the shock announcement of a second summit between the two leaders set to take place in Budapest.

Alluding to the call, Zelensky wrote in a post on X: “We can already see that Moscow is rushing to resume dialogue as soon as it hears about Tomahawks.”

He expressed confidence that the “momentum of curbing terror and war that succeeded in the Middle East will help to end Russia’s war against Ukraine,” adding that “Putin is certainly no braver than Hamas or any other terrorist.”

“The language of strength and justice will inevitably work against Russia as well,” Zelensky emphasized.

The President said that he is set to have a series of meetings with representatives of defense companies to discuss additional supplies of air defense systems on Thursday.

Zelensky said he would also meet with representatives of American energy companies, adding: “As Russia is betting on terror against our energy sector and carrying out daily strikes, we are working to ensure Ukraine’s resilience.”

On Friday, he will attend a scheduled meeting with Trump at which the possible transfer of Tomahawk cruise missiles is likely to be high on the agenda.

Trump has given conflicting messages about the missiles, described by Washington as a “step up” in capability.

On Sunday, he indicated that he could use the Tomahawks to force Moscow to get the war “settled,” while on other occasions he has expressed fears that they could “escalate” the conflict.

Speaking in Washington as Zelensky arrived, Trump seemed to cast doubt on the notion that the US could supply the missiles, saying it could not afford to “deplete” its own stockpiles.

He also noted that Putin “didn’t like the idea”, after Kremlin aide Yuri Ushakov suggested Putin had castigated the US President for the proposal on their shared call, saying it would “cause significant damage to relations between our two countries.”

Trump told reporters that he would meet Putin in Budapest “probably over the next two weeks,” after Secretary of State Marco Rubio has had a chance to hold talks with Russian officials.