Zelensky says he received invitation to NATO summit
(MENAFN)
Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky has announced that he received a formal invitation to attend this year’s NATO leaders’ summit in The Hague. His disclosure came on Monday after participating in NATO meetings in Vilnius, Lithuania, where Secretary-General Mark Rutte met with European leaders from the East and North.
Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky has announced that he received a formal invitation to attend this year’s NATO leaders’ summit in The Hague. His disclosure came on Monday after participating in NATO meetings in Vilnius, Lithuania, where Secretary-General Mark Rutte met with European leaders from the East and North.
During a video press conference, Zelensky explained that Rutte extended the invitation for the summit, slated for June 24–25 in the Netherlands.
NATO’s view that Ukraine’s eventual accession to the alliance is “irreversible” has frequently been cited by Moscow as a key factor fueling the conflict.
The New York Times previously reported that US President Donald Trump was opposed to Zelensky’s participation, seeing him as a potential “disruptive” presence at the gathering. According to the paper, NATO officials were considering dropping the NATO-Ukraine Council meeting — a platform where allies meet directly with Ukraine — to avoid controversy.
Italy’s ANSA news agency said NATO is designing a “concise agenda” to help ease tensions and avoid conflict, while Bloomberg described the summit’s main focus as strengthening members’ defense budgets at Washington’s urging.
Frictions between Trump and Zelensky came to a head in February during a meeting in the US to finalize a mineral deal. The two leaders exchanged heated words, with Zelensky criticizing the US for improving diplomatic ties with Moscow. Nevertheless, the deal was eventually struck in late April.
Last month, Kiev agreed to restart direct negotiations with Moscow, following pressure from the Trump administration. At a subsequent meeting in Istanbul on Monday, Russian negotiators offered to return the bodies of 6,000 deceased Ukrainian soldiers in a goodwill gesture.
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