Lauge Risom Koch 
According to the Kyiv Independent, citing U.S. and Russian officials, Presidents Donald Trump and Volodymyr Zelenskyy are set to meet during the NATO summit in Turkey to discuss efforts to end Russia’s war against Ukraine.
U.S. President Donald Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy are expected to meet during the NATO summit in Turkey this week, with the war in Ukraine set to top the agenda.
According to the Kyiv Independent, citing a U.S. official, the meeting is part of renewed diplomatic efforts aimed at finding a path toward ending Russia’s full-scale invasion.
Summit meeting
Trump is due to arrive at the NATO summit on July 7, with his meeting with Zelenskyy scheduled for 10:30 a.m. local time the following day.
A U.S. official told Reuters the leaders are expected to discuss “how we can end the war.”
“The battlefield has clearly frozen over the last couple of months and neither side is making a lot of progress,” the official said. “The president feels a real sense of urgency to try to bring this to a stop.”
Defense focus
The same official said Trump will also urge NATO allies to further increase defense spending during the summit.
“He will deliver that message in person,” the official said.
According to the Kyiv Independent, several defense-related agreements worth billions of dollars are also expected to be announced during the gathering, although no additional details have been disclosed.
Recent diplomacy
Trump and Zelenskyy last met in person at the G7 summit in France on June 16. The two leaders also spoke by phone on July 4, when Zelenskyy congratulated Trump on the United States’ 250th Independence Day.
The planned meeting comes shortly after Trump held a nearly 90-minute phone conversation with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
According to the Kyiv Independent, Kremlin aide Yuri Ushakov said the two leaders discussed possible ways to end the war, business ties between the countries, and the situation on the battlefield, adding that Trump’s envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner could travel to Moscow again.
Sources: Kyiv Independent, Reuters
