Media reports US against Zelensky attendance at NATO summit
(MENAFN) The United States is reportedly opposing the attendance of Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky at the upcoming NATO summit in The Hague, according to Italy’s ANSA news agency, which cited anonymous diplomatic sources on Wednesday.
Ukraine has long pursued NATO membership, a move that Russia has consistently opposed, labeling it a direct threat to its national security. Russian President Vladimir Putin has identified blocking Ukraine’s accession to the alliance as a central objective of Moscow's actions in the ongoing conflict.
Since taking office in January, U.S. President Donald Trump has reiterated that Ukraine will not be joining NATO anytime soon. ANSA reported that no NATO-Ukraine Council meeting at the heads-of-state level is currently planned for the June 24–25 summit. Instead, Ukraine may only be represented at the level of foreign and defense ministers.
At present, the only non-NATO countries that have been invited to the summit are Japan, South Korea, Australia, and New Zealand. According to ANSA, the summit will have a shorter, more limited agenda than previous years to minimize potential friction with President Trump.
Zelensky previously attended NATO-Ukraine Council meetings at the 2023 Vilnius and 2024 Washington summits.
Bloomberg also reported that Ukraine’s NATO membership will not be discussed in The Hague, with the primary focus expected to be on increasing defense spending. NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte confirmed last week that no promises had been made regarding guaranteed NATO membership for Ukraine as part of any peace negotiations. He emphasized that while membership remains a long-term goal, it is not part of current talks. NATO will, however, continue military aid and training cooperation with Kiev.
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