Zelenskyy not invited to NATO summit to please Trump - Euractiv
For the first time since the beginning of Russia's full-scale invasion, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy was not invited to participate in the main discussions of the NATO summit to be held in June, to "please" US President Donald Trump.
According to Censor.NET, Euractiv writes about this with reference to sources.
The publication notes that most European leaders were looking forward to meeting Zelenskyy at the summit. However, their desire to please Trump and "ensure that the American leader smiles in the photos" may have been more important.
The summit's agenda currently includes only one session, which will include discussions between representatives of 32 NATO member states. According to one of the sources, the White House has expressed doubts about whether to allocate a separate agenda item for Ukraine.
Two people said the goal of the summit was to demonstrate unity within the alliance. Involving Ukraine could create tensions, especially with Trump, who insists on negotiating with Russia and opposes Ukraine's membership in NATO in the near future.
One source assured that Ukraine will join "in one form or another." Presumably, the Kyiv delegation will be invited to social events around the summit at the same level as other NATO partners, including an informal dinner for leaders. Regular guests from Australia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Japan, and South Korea are usually invited to these events.
Euractiv notes that during the three years of full-scale war, Kyiv has been constantly present at NATO summits. In 2022 in Madrid, Kyiv took part virtually, in Vilnius in 2023, and in Washington in 2024, Zelenskyy was present in person. Last year, the leaders' meeting also included a meeting in the format of the NATO-Ukraine Council.
As a reminder, the NATO summit will take place on June 24-25 in The Hague. Earlier, the media reported that the United States does not support the idea of inviting President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to the summit.
NATO Secretary General Rutte said that it has not yet been decided which of the partners to invite to the Alliance summit. And Dutch Foreign Minister Veldkamp noted that it is the head of the Alliance who will decide whether to invite President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to the summit in The Hague.
