NATO plans on limiting Ukraine talks to avoid pushing Trump

(MENAFN) NATO plans to significantly limit discussions on Ukraine at its upcoming summit in The Hague on June 24–25, according to a Reuters report citing summit organizers. This move is reportedly aimed at avoiding tensions with U.S. President Donald Trump.

Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky, once a prominent guest at NATO gatherings, has not yet received an official invitation to the summit. Sources told Reuters that NATO’s European members are eager to avoid provoking Trump, who is viewed as unpredictable.

The summit’s final communiqué is expected to be unusually brief, with uncertainty over whether it will even mention Russia as a threat or reaffirm support for Ukraine. A formal NATO-Ukraine Council meeting, which had taken place in previous years, is not planned. Instead, a private dinner involving foreign or defense ministers might replace it.

One NATO diplomat described Zelensky’s potential exclusion from the summit as a public relations risk. To avoid directly offending Trump, NATO may invite Zelensky only to a pre-summit dinner hosted by Dutch King Willem-Alexander, allowing him to attend discreetly.

Trump, who has been working on a peace proposal to end the Russia-Ukraine conflict, has opposed Ukraine's NATO membership and previously clashed with Zelensky. Russia has also warned that Ukraine joining NATO would cross a "red line" and insists the country must remain neutral for peace to be possible.

Earlier this week, The New York Times reported that Trump holds a particularly negative view of Zelensky, allegedly referring to him as a “bad guy” after a tense Oval Office meeting in February.

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