Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said he expects to meet Tuesday with President Trump during the NATO summit at The Hague after the two failed to meet at last week’s Group of Seven summit.
Mr. Zelenskyy said his team was working with Mr. Trump’s staffers to hammer out a time and place for the NATO meeting. The Ukrainian president’s team also reportedly discussed possible topics and the structure for a meeting with Secretary of State Marco Rubio.
Both presidents were expected to meet at the G7 summit last week, but both left early. Mr. Trump left to deal with a new conflict between Iran and Israel, and Mr. Zelenskyy left after reports of new Russian strikes on Kyiv.
In an interview with the Kyiv Independent, Mr. Zelenskyy expressed concerns over the U.S. position on Russian aggression, adding that Kyiv and Washington should be strong allies against Moscow.
“It is a complicated question because I truly do not know what relationship Trump has with Putin,” Mr. Zelenskyy said, referring to Russian President Vladimir Putin. “They will never be friends. They may be short-term partners, but they will never be friends.”
He added that he hopes Mr. Trump would use his relationship with Mr. Putin to force Russia to peace negotiations.
The relationship between Kyiv and Washington has been strained since the disastrous Oval Office meeting between Mr. Zelenskyy and Mr. Trump, where the conversation devolved into a public shouting match.
However, Russia and Ukraine have conducted two rounds of prisoner transfers and begun peace proceedings. But both nations remain deadlocked on peace terms, with Ukraine seeking a ceasefire and Russia demanding that Kyiv stay out of NATO.
Since starting peace talks, both nations have conducted significant drone and missile strikes on the other, further restricting the possibility of peace.
Mr. Zelenskyy is also slated to meet with NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen during his time at the summit.
Mr. Rutte said he expects NATO members to approve a new defense investment plan during the summit, raising the benchmark of defense spending to 5% of GDP, although Spain has refused to approve the spending increase. He added that the summit will also heavily focus on continued support for Ukraine and the “pursuit of a just and lasting end to Russia’s war of aggression.”
“NATO has detailed defence plans in place. We know how to tackle the dangers that confront us. And we are committed to defending every inch of Allied territory, should any potential adversary make the mistake of attacking any Ally,” Mr. Rutte told member nations. “Based on those plans, Allies have agreed on an ambitious new set of capability targets — the specific, practical requirements that ensure that we can implement our defense plans.”
• Vaughn Cockayne can be reached at vcockayne@washingtontimes.com.