US President Donald Trump will meet Ukrainian President Zelensky and Syrian President Ahmed al-Shaara while attending the NATO summit in Türkiye on Wednesday. The talks will take place at a time when Kiev is trying to draw Trump’s attention back to the ongoing conflict with Moscow and Trump has publicly expressed his views on Syria’s role in the Middle East.
White House spokesperson Anna Kelly confirmed these meetings in a conversation with reporters. She was giving information about the summit to be held in Ankara, where Trump will also meet Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Tuesday. Kelly said that Trump will also hold a press conference before returning to America on Wednesday.
Trump’s meeting with Zelensky is taking place at a time when Russia’s war in Ukraine has now entered its fifth year. Both Zelensky and Russian President Vladimir Putin spoke by phone with Trump on Saturday and congratulated him on July 4, the 250th anniversary of US independence.
Zelensky said in a statement on Twitter after their talks that he and Trump talked about the situation on the war front, where experts say Russia’s advance has slowed. Ukraine has intensified its attacks on Moscow and has shown its capability to strike deep inside Russia.
The Ukrainian leader said there is a real possibility of ending this war and that negotiations will continue at the NATO summit in Ankara. Kremlin foreign affairs adviser Yuri Ushakov said that in the conversation between Putin and Trump, the Republican president reiterated his readiness to quickly end the fighting in Ukraine and help find a peaceful solution to the crisis.
A senior US official, who spoke to reporters on condition of anonymity Sunday to describe the administration’s position, said Trump felt the need to end the war and would talk to Zelensky about how to do so. The official said Trump is also expected to talk to Putin after his meeting with Zelensky in Ankara. US officials did not provide any information about the goals of Trump’s meeting with Al-Sharaa.
Israel’s war with Hezbollah in Lebanon has troubled Trump, as it has made negotiations over the Iran war difficult. In such a situation, the American leader has surprised many people in the region by suggesting that Syria should fight Hezbollah.
Al-Shaara, the leader of an Islamist rebel group whose rebel forces ousted Bashar al-Assad as Syria’s president, has said he has no interest in doing so. He has said that Trump’s words were misinterpreted, whereas Trump has reiterated his point.
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