White House announces: Trump to meet with Zelenskyy and Shara after NATO Summit in Ankara

The White House announced that U.S. President Donald Trump will hold bilateral meetings with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Syrian President Ahmed Shara following his engagements within the scope of the NATO Leaders Summit to be held in Ankara.

The statement came during a press conference held via teleconference by Deputy White House Press Secretary Anna Kelly and U.S. Permanent Representative to NATO Matt Whitaker. According to the shared schedule, Trump will meet separately with Zelenskyy and Shara on Wednesday following his summit engagements.

Whitaker stated that defense spending and burden-sharing are among the main agenda items of the summit, describing the meeting as a "critical threshold for the future of the Alliance."

ANKARA SCHEDULE BECOMING CLEAR

According to the schedule provided by the White House, Trump is expected to arrive in Ankara on Tuesday. It was stated that the U.S. President will be welcomed by President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan with an official ceremony and will subsequently attend a dinner held in honor of the NATO leaders.

Trump is scheduled to participate in the NATO Leaders Summit session and the family photo session on Wednesday. Following the meetings with Zelenskyy and Shara, Trump is expected to hold a press conference regarding his contacts in Turkey.

According to U.S. officials, the main agenda of the meeting between Trump and Zelenskyy will be diplomatic initiatives aimed at ending the war in Ukraine. The officials emphasized that while there has not been a major change on the front lines in recent months, diplomatic efforts need to be accelerated.

Regional security risks originating from Iran, the security of maritime trade routes, and the military capacity contributions of NATO allies will also be discussed at the summit. The U.S. side reported that new collaborations and production agreements regarding the defense industry could also be on the agenda.

Trump is planned to return to Washington on the same evening following his contacts in Ankara.

News Source: 12punto