Zelensky visibly shocked at reporter's question; Trump meeting starts on awkward note

President Donald Trump on Friday hosted Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky for talks at the White House

President Donald Trump on Friday hosted Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky for talks at the White House. This came after Trump signalled that he is not willing to sell a long-range missile system to Kyiv. The 79-year-old also spoke to Russian President Vladimir Putin, discussing the end of the Ukraine-Russia conflict.

Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky listens as President Donald Trump speaks before a lunch in the Cabinet Room (AP)

However, social media users pointed out several ‘awkward’ moments during Zelensky's visit. Some said that the Ukrainian president was received by his own official, Andrii Yermak, and the flight crew upon his arrival in Washington, DC. No top-tier American diplomat was at the tarmac.

Later, during his meeting with Trump, Zelensky faced a direct question about concessions for Putin.

“What specific concessions are you willing to make to make to end this war with Russia? Will you give up on joining NATO? Americans have foreign war fatigue, and as our president said, we need our Tomahawks too,” the reporter asked.

Zelesnky looked surprised. At the start of the talks, the Ukrainian President congratulated Trump over landing last week’s ceasefire and hostage deal in Gaza and said Trump now has “momentum” to stop the Russia-Ukraine conflict.

“President Trump now has a big chance to finish this war,” Zelensky added.

Zelensky also suggested he had come with a “proposition” in which Ukraine could provide the United States with its advanced drones, while Washington would sell Kyiv the long-range Tomahawk cruise missiles.

Trump said he believed Ukraine was manufacturing “very good” drones but expressed reluctance about tapping into the U.S. Tomahawk supply.

“I have an obligation also to make sure that we’re completely stocked up as a country, because you never know what’s going to happen in war and peace,” Trump said.

“We need Tomahawks for the United States of America too,” Trump said. “We have a lot of them, but we need them. I mean we can’t deplete our country.”