Donald Trump to meet Ukraine's Volodymyr Zelensky at NATO summit
Fresh from the ceasefire brokered between Iran and Israel - which appears to have been broken a matter of hours after it came into effect - US President Donald Trump is planning on meeting Ukraine's Volodymyr Zelensky on the sidelines of the NATO summit in The Hague, a senior source in the Ukrainian presidency told AFP.
The war-time leader has been a central figure at recent summits but given his fractious relationship with Trump, Zelensky has not been invited to the main working session with NATO members which begins on Tuesday local time.
After much to-ing and fro-ing on Zelensky's part about whether the trip to the Netherlands would be worth it without a meeting with Trump, he has confirmed he will attend the two-day summit alongside the leaders of the 32 NATO members.
'The teams are finalising the details' of the meeting, the source told AFP, adding that the talks were scheduled for the 'early afternoon' in the Netherlands.
The source added that the discussion would focus on Ukraine's 'purchase of a defence package, a large part of which consists of air defence systems'.
The leaders would also discuss more 'sanctions against Russia, and a price cap on oil', the source added.
Ukraine and its allies have sought to lower an existing oil cap imposed on Russia after it invaded Ukraine more than three years ago, from $60 to $45, to dent the Kremlin war chest.
Trump so far has frustrated Western allies by refusing to impose new sanctions on Russia despite President Vladimir Putin's refusal to agree to a Ukraine ceasefire.
Trump famously said during his election campaign that he would end the war in Ukraine 'in one day, 24 hours'. After brokering a short-lived ceasefire between Iran and Israel, he may be looking to advance plans to do the same in Ukraine.
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