Trump says he is likely to meet with Zelenskiy at NATO summit

On the sidelines of the NATO summit, a meeting is likely to take place between US President Donald Trump and Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelenskyy. Trump himself told journalists about the possible meeting on board Air Force One, reports The Barron's.

"Yes, I will probably see him," the US president said.

When asked what he would say to Zelensky, with whom he had a serious argument in the Oval Office in February, Trump replied: "I'll say: "How are you?" He's in a tough spot, he shouldn't have been there at all".

The British TV channel Sky News, citing a White House source, writes that the meeting will indeed take place during the NATO summit in The Hague. Earlier, Zelenskyy said in an interview with the media that he was looking forward to talks with the American president. He claimed that the Ukrainian and American teams are working on organizational details and the time of the meeting.

The last time Zelenskiy and Trump met was at the funeral of Pope Francis in April.

Earlier in the day, the head of the Office of the President Andriy Yermak said after a conversation with US Secretary of State and acting National Security Advisor Marco Rubio that a meeting between Zelenskyy and Trump was being prepared. The head of the OP did not specify when exactly it would take place.

• The previous meeting between Zelenskyy and Trump could have taken place during the G7 summit in mid-June, but the US president left the event prematurely due to the escalating situation in the Middle East.
• On June 19, the FT wrote that Trump's decision to leave the G7 summit on the first day was partly due to his irritation with Macron and lack of interest in seeing Zelenskyy.