Trump to meet Ukrainian and Syrian leaders at NATO summit

President Donald Trump is scheduled to meet Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Syrian President Ahmad al-Sharaa on Wednesday at the NATO summit in Ankara, Turkey, the White House said. The meetings come as Kyiv seeks to draw Trump’s focus to the ongoing war with Russia and as Trump has recently commented on Syria’s role in regional affairs.

White House spokesperson Anna Kelly confirmed the talks during a briefing with reporters and noted that Trump will also meet Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Tuesday and hold a news conference before returning to the United States.

Zelenskyy, who spoke on the social platform X after a recent call with Trump, said the two leaders discussed front-line conditions in Ukraine and the “real prospect of ending this war,” adding that the conversation would continue at the summit.

"In Putin’s call with Trump, the Republican president reaffirmed his readiness to help achieve a quick cessation of hostilities and search for peaceful solutions to settle the crisis in Ukraine," Kremlin foreign-affairs adviser Yuri Ushakov said.

A senior U.S. official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said Trump feels a sense of urgency to end the conflict and will discuss possible steps with Zelenskyy, and that he is expected to follow up with Russian President Vladimir Putin after the Ankara meetings.

U.S. officials did not disclose the specific objectives of Trump’s meeting with al-Sharaa. The Syrian leader, a former insurgent commander who later became president, has said he has no interest in confronting Hezbollah, contrary to Trump’s earlier remarks.

"My comments were misconstrued," al-Sharaa said in response to reports that Trump urged Syria to fight Hezbollah.