(MENAFN- Live Mint) President Donald Trump hosted Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky for talks at the White House on Friday, but signalled he's not prepared to approve the sale of a long-range missile system that Kyiv says it“urgently needs”.

Zelensky's one-on-one meeting with Trump came just a day after the US president held an extended phone call with Russian President Vladimir Putin to discuss the ongoing war.

Earlier, Trump had appeared open to the idea of selling Ukraine long-range Tomahawk cruise missiles, despite warnings from Putin that such a move would further damage US-Russia relations.

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Trump and Zelensky's long-hours discussion was described as a tense, frank and, at times,“uncomfortable”, according to a report by CNN citing sources.

One official told CNN that Trump was under the impression that Ukraine is seeking to escalate and prolong the conflict and is worried about potential losses during an upcoming harsh winter.

Trump-Zelensky's 'tense' discussion

Shortly after the meeting ended, Trump pushed for a ceasefire along the current battle lines and called for an end to the killing.

He told those around him that it was due to the“realities of where the conflict stands,” arguing there was too much devastation and too much killing, according to one official.

“Both sides need to make a deal,” another official said, arguing the conditions are only going to get worse.

Zelensky cast the meeting as a“pointed conversation” in a post to social media, but said its outcome“can really help bring this war closer to an end.”

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Ukraine has been lobbying Washington for Tomahawks for weeks, arguing that the missiles could help put pressure on Russia to end its brutal three-and-a-half-year invasion.

Trump said the United States had to be careful not to "deplete" its own supplies of Tomahawks, which have a range of over 1,600 kilometres (1,000 miles).

Why is Zelensky seeking Tomahawks from US?

At the start of the White House talks, Zelenskyy proposed a deal in which Ukraine would provide the United States with its advanced drones in exchange for Washington agreeing to sell Kyiv Tomahawk cruise missiles.

Zelensky had been seeking the Tomahawks, which would allow Ukrainian forces to strike deep into Russian territory and target key military sites, energy facilities and critical infrastructure.

Zelensky has argued that the potential for such strikes would help compel Putin to take Trump's calls for direct negotiations to end the war more seriously, AP reported.

Also Read | Putin tells Trump US' Tomahawks supplies to Ukraine could derail peace: Kremlin

“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'd much rather have them not need Tomahawks. We'd much rather have the war be over to be honest.”

Trump's latest rhetoric on Tomahawks is certainly disappointing to the Ukrainians.

In recent days, Trump had shown an openness to selling Ukraine the Tomahawks, even as Putin warned that such a move would further strain the U.S.-Russian relationship.

But following Thursday's call with Putin, Trump began downplaying the prospects of Ukraine getting the missiles, which have a range of about 995 miles (1,600 kilometers.)

Putin warns Tomahawks 'won't change anything'

Putin warned Trump during the call that supplying Kyiv with the Tomahawks“won't change the situation on the battlefield, but would cause substantial damage to the relationship between our countries,” according to Yuri Ushakov, Putin's foreign policy adviser.

We'd much rather have the war be over to be honest.

It was the fifth face-to-face meeting for Trump and Zelensky since the Republican returned to office in January.

Trump, going back to his 2024 campaign, insisted he would quickly end the war, but his peace efforts appeared to stall following a diplomatic blitz in August, when he held a summit with Putin in Alaska and a White House meeting with Zelensky and European allies.

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