Zelensky Talks ‘Ceasefire’: During the NATO summit held in the Netherlands, President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine found himself somewhat marginalized; however, he successfully organized a meeting with US President Donald Trump on Wednesday.
Trump characterised their private 50-minute conversation as “couldn’t have been nicer.”
No journalists were allowed to attend this initial meeting between the two leaders, as their discussion at the Vatican two months earlier had been private.
They appeared to avoid revisiting the infamous Oval Office encounter that had previously strained relations between Kyiv and its key ally.
“I had a good meeting with Zelensky,” Trump stated. “He’s fighting a brave battle. It’s a tough struggle.”
The generally positive tone was likely more than what Kyiv could have expected, especially given that NATO strategists intentionally kept Zelensky at arm’s length to avoid antagonising Trump.
Zelensky’s discussions resulted in only a vague promise from the US president regarding Patriot air defence systems.
“We’re going to see if we can make some available,” Trump remarked about the missiles that Kyiv urgently needs to counter Russian attacks.
“They’re very hard to come by,” he added.
Trump mentioned that he would be speaking again with Russian President Vladimir Putin soon to facilitate stalled peace talks, but did not reference any potential sanctions against Moscow for its lack of progress.
After this meeting, Zelensky proceeded to Strasbourg, where he signed an agreement with the Council of Europe rights monitor aimed at establishing a special tribunal for prosecuting senior officials accountable for Russia’s invasion.
Before this, he expressed gratitude for his “long and substantive” conversation with Trump.
“I thank Mr. President; I appreciate the United States. We discussed achieving a ceasefire and true peace,” he posted on X.
“We talked about measures to protect our citizens. Your attention and willingness to assist us in moving closer to peace are valued.”
As support from the US has diminished under Trump’s administration, discussions in The Hague mainly concentrated on satisfying the US leader through commitments from allies to boost their defence spending.
While Zelensky managed to secure time with Trump, being placed in a secondary role marked a departure from his more prominent status at previous NATO summits.
Last year in Washington, this wartime leader received praise from US President Joe Biden and secured guarantees from NATO that Ukraine’s bid for membership was “irreversible.”
Despite NATO chief Mark Rutte asserting that this remained valid during this year’s summit, no references were included in its final declaration regarding Ukraine’s membership application.
Trump has effectively ruled out NATO membership for Kyiv, while Zelensky has notably refrained from discussing this issue compared to prior occasions.
Unlike earlier meetings, there was no formal session involving Zelensky alongside NATO’s 32 leaders during this streamlined summit.
With US support shifting from primary backer to marginal contributor under Trump’s leadership, it fell upon European allies to provide reassurance during the two-day event.
Both Rutte and EU chief Ursula von der Leyen assured Zelensky that he remained “among friends” throughout their discussions.
However, substantial new military aid pledges for Kyiv—common features of recent meetings—were absent.
The most favourable outcome for Europe was securing US approval for NATO countries to allocate portions of their recently announced defence budgets towards assisting Ukraine.
“The allies reaffirm their steadfast sovereign commitments to support Ukraine, whose security is integral to our own,” stated the final communiqué.
