US President Donald Trump met with the leaders of each Ukraine and Russia on Saturday throughout US Independence Day celebrations, Kyiv and Moscow mentioned.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy mentioned he had a “superb telephone dialog” with President Trump, throughout which they celebrated the 250th anniversary of the founding of the USA and mentioned the present scenario on the entrance traces of the conflict in Ukraine.
Zelensky mentioned there have been “practical prospects” for an finish to the battle, including that he had agreed to proceed talks with Trump in the course of the NATO summit scheduled to be held in Ankara on July 7-8.
Mr. Zelensky and Mr. Trump have had an up-and-down relationship since Mr. Zelensky returned to the White Home, most notably in a heated change within the Oval Workplace in early 2025. However final month, Trump praised Zelenskiy, calling his Ukrainian counterpart “brave” and saying he was “doing fairly properly” within the conflict with Russia.
Russian President Vladimir Putin additionally met with President Trump on Saturday, the Kremlin introduced.
In a press release, presidential aide Yuri Ushakov mentioned Putin congratulated Trump on the US vacation throughout an hour and 25-minute telephone dialog.
“Each presidents naturally touched on the difficulty of the Ukraine settlement, taking into consideration President Donald Trump’s participation within the NATO summit to be held in Turkey on July 7-8,” he mentioned.
It added that President Trump “reaffirmed his readiness to advertise the earliest attainable cessation of hostilities and the seek for peaceable options to beat the disaster.”
This comes after Russia launched a serious assault on Kiev earlier this week, killing no less than 30 individuals and wounding dozens extra. On Friday evening, Ukrainian forces independently attacked oil infrastructure amenities close to the Russian metropolis of St. Petersburg.
The 2026 NATO summit will carry collectively allies to debate a variety of defense-related matters, together with funding, trade and assist for Kiev.
In 2025, NATO members agreed to speculate 5% of their GDP in protection by 2035, 3.5% for core protection necessities and 1.5% for broader protection and security-related investments.
President Trump has lengthy criticized the protection spending of his European allies and has repeatedly referred to as for extra funding in his nation’s safety.
Allies might be hoping to make use of the Turkey summit to defuse tensions with President Trump over the Iran conflict and the U.S. pursuit of Greenland.
U.S. Secretary of Protection Pete Hegseth, talking in Brussels in June, mentioned Europe should take the lead in constructing a revamped NATO 3.0 and a “true, robust army alliance.”
“NATO 3.0 is a post-Chilly Conflict realization that requires a return to a really robust army alliance with actual army capabilities that may deter right here on the continent and take the lead in conventional European protection,” Hegseth mentioned.
