WASHINGTON: US President Donald Trump will meet his Ukrainian and Syrian counterparts on the sidelines of the NATO summit in Turkiye, the White House said Sunday, as he seeks to make headway in addressing two key conflicts.
“On Wednesday afternoon, President Trump will participate in bilateral meetings with President Zelensky of Ukraine and President al-Sharaa of the Syrian Arab Republic,” Deputy Press Secretary Anna Kelly said in a call with reporters.
Trump’s meeting with Volodymyr Zelensky in Ankara comes amid growing efforts to end the nearly stalemated conflict between Ukraine and Russia started nearly four-and-a-half years ago.
“The president’s obviously getting together with him to talk about how we can end the war. That’s been a priority of his for a long time,” a senior US official, citied by AFP while speaking on condition of anonymity, added about the Zelensky meeting.
Trump would “follow up” with Russian President Vladimir Putin afterwards, the official said.
Both Putin and Zelensky spoke by phone with Trump on Saturday in calls to mark the 250th anniversary of US independence.
Trump and Zelensky most recently met during the G7 summit in France in June, where leaders agreed to intensify pressure on Russia to end the war with Ukraine.
But Trump has also had tense ties with the Ukrainian, most notably during a shouting match in the Oval Office in February 2025 when he said Zelensky lacked the “cards” to win.
Trump and Putin discuss Ukraine war
Trump and Putin held a telephone conversation on Saturday to discuss the war in Ukraine, with Moscow saying Trump reiterated his willingness to help bring about an early end to the conflict.
Kremlin foreign policy aide Yuri Ushakov said the call lasted about 85 to 90 minutes. He said Putin briefed the US president on the situation on the battlefield.
The Kremlin’s foreign policy aide Ushakov said the two leaders discussed efforts to resolve the conflict in Ukraine, taking into account Trump’s planned participation in the NATO summit.
The Russian Foreign Ministry described the conversation as “businesslike and highly constructive”. It said Trump reaffirmed his readiness to facilitate “the earliest possible cessation of hostilities” in Ukraine.
Zelensky speaks with Trump
Earlier on Saturday, Zelensky said he had also spoken with Trump and congratulated him on the US Independence Day anniversary.
In a post on X, the Ukrainian president described the exchange as a “very good phone call”.
“President Trump and I discussed the current situation on the frontline as well as our diplomatic efforts. There is a real prospect to put an end to this war, and America’s resolve is decisive,” Zelensky wrote.
He said the two leaders had agreed to continue their discussions during the NATO summit in Ankara.
In a separate social media post, Zelensky also said there was “a real prospect to put an end to this war”.
Russia’s Foreign Ministry said Moscow continued to favour a political and diplomatic settlement to the conflict. It also claimed that Ukraine and its European allies were seeking to prolong and escalate the war.
This weekend, Moscow claimed its forces had captured the town of Kostyantynivka in Ukraine’s Donetsk region, describing it as an important milestone.
The Ukrainian military, however, told CNN that although small groups of Russian soldiers had entered parts of the town.
A Ukrainian military unit operating in the area released a video from the town and described Russia’s claim as disinformation intended to create the impression of battlefield success.
Zelensky also rejected the Russian claim, calling it “just another Russian lie”.
