The American president Donald Trump will meet with Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky during the NATO summit in The Hague, the White House reported on Tuesday. The time and place of this meeting are not yet known.
Zelensky had already been aiming for a meeting with his American counterpart Trump, he said in an interview with Sky News. Zelensky said that there are plans, but that the details are still being worked out. “I don’t know exactly what will happen, to be honest. The teams are working on that. But there are indeed plans for a meeting.”
A high-ranking Ukrainian source and a White House official also confirmed to international news agencies that a conversation is being planned. According to the Ukrainian source, this should take place on Wednesday afternoon in the Netherlands. “The teams are working out the final details.” The conversation should be about the sanctions against Russia and the arming of Ukraine.
Zelensky has a complex relationship with the American president. Earlier this year, an argument arose during a visit to the White House. Later, a conversation followed in the Vatican after the death of the Pope. The White House called that consultation “very productive”. Zelensky had reportedly hoped for a one-on-one with Trump at the G7 summit in Canada this month, but the American president left there prematurely.
Diplomats say that the circumstances for a meeting between Trump and Zelensky are now favorable. Trump is said to be in a good mood after the in his view successful American intervention in Iran and the upcoming groundbreaking agreement at the NATO summit on extra defense investments by European allies.