Trump to Hold High-Stakes Bilateral Meetings With Zelenskyy at Ankara NATO Summit

United States President Donald Trump is scheduled to hold individual bilateral meetings with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Syrian President Ahmad al-Sharaa on July 8 during the NATO summit in Türkiye, the White House announced on July 5, the Associated Press reported.

The upcoming high-level discussions in Ankara occur as Kyiv aims to refocus American attention on the Russian invasion of Ukraine. The Associated Press reported that White House spokesperson Anna Kelly confirmed the diplomatic itinerary, noting that Trump also plans to meet with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan before concluding his trip with a formal press conference.

The meeting with Zelenskyy coincides with the war being in its fifth year, following separate phone consultations Trump held over the weekend with both the Ukrainian leader and Russian leader Vladimir Putin. Zelenskyy noted in a statement that there is “a real prospect of ending this war,” expressing optimism that the strategic conversation would advance productively during the alliance summit.

According to data obtained by the Associated Press, a senior US official indicated that Trump feels a strong sense of urgency to halt the war and intends to map out specific exit strategies during his time with Zelenskyy.

Concurrently, Kremlin foreign affairs adviser Yuri Ushakov told the Associated Press that during Putin’s call, Trump reaffirmed his “readiness to help achieve a quick cessation of hostilities and search for peaceful solutions to settle the crisis.” Following his face-to-face dialogue with Zelenskyy, Trump is expected to immediately follow up with the Russian leader to gauge potential negotiation parameters, according to the publication.

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While US administration officials did not provide explicit policy benchmarks regarding the scheduled talks with al-Sharaa—who assumed leadership after rebel forces ousted Bashar al-Assad—Trump has publicly mused about Damascus assuming a larger security role in the Middle East.

The Associated Press highlighted that Trump has specifically floated the idea of Syria countering Hezbollah forces in Lebanon. Al-Sharaa has publicly rejected any potential military intervention, suggesting that the American president’s public remarks may have been misconstrued.

These upcoming talks occur alongside domestic political friction in Moscow over prior discussions with Washington. It was previously reported that Russian hardliners were demanding that the Kremlin abandon diplomacy and escalate military operations.

According to the reports, three senior Russian officials stated that previous talks with the US yielded no results, accusing Washington of failing to follow through on peace proposals raised during a 2025 summit in Alaska.

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