Trump called the meeting “beautiful” and said Zelenskyy asked for more weapons during the 15-minute session.

Trump continued voicing his frustration at President Vladimir Putin for launching a missile attack on Kyiv, and said he could not say for sure whether the Russian leader was serious about ending the war.

“I think the meeting went well. We’ll see what happens over the next few days. We’ll probably learn a lot. I was very disappointed that missiles were flying by Russia,” Trump said as he was departing New Jersey, where he spent part of the weekend at his golf club.

He said during his meeting at St Peter’s with Zelenskyy they briefly discussed the issue of Crimea, which the US would recognise as Russian under an American peace proposal that Zelenskyy has rejected.

Trump denied his relationship with Zelenskyy was ever bad, saying instead their televised dispute in February was merely a small obstacle.

“I see him as calmer. I think he understands the picture. And I think he wants to make a deal,” Trump said.

Putin, he said, needed to demonstrate a commitment to ending the war.

“I want him to stop shooting, sit down and sign a deal,” Trump said. “We have the confines of a deal, I believe, and I want him to sign it and be done with it and just go back to life.”