Zelensky may cancel participation in NATO summit in The Hague: reason

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky is considering canceling his visit to the NATO summit in The Hague, scheduled for June 24. This decision was made as a result of the head of state’s deep disappointment over the failure of a personal meeting with Donald Trump at the G7 summit in Canada, as well as the failure of key agreements, in particular on military aid and sanctions against Russia.

This is reported by The Guardian .

It is noted that US President Donald Trump left the G7 summit in Canada a day before the scheduled meeting with Zelensky, explaining his decision by the need to focus on the escalating conflict between Israel and Iran.

The move, which put an end to personal dialogue between the two leaders, caused frustration among the Ukrainian delegation. Some diplomats even called the situation “humiliating,” given the Ukrainian president’s 8,000-kilometer flight.

The US also vetoed a joint G7 statement on Ukraine, believing its rhetoric was too “anti-Russian” and could harm talks with Putin. Instead, the issue of Ukraine was mentioned in the closing remarks of Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney.

Ukraine had hoped to receive new military aid packages from the United States, including air defense systems worth up to $50 billion. But, according to journalists, Trump again expressed the opinion that the supply of weapons only prolongs the war.

“Ukraine has once again fallen victim to Trump’s inconsistent policies and short attention span,” commented one Ukrainian official.

One of Zelensky’s main topics was the initiative to lower the price ceiling for Russian oil from $60 to $45 per barrel to reduce the Kremlin’s revenues. However, due to the inconsistency of positions and the rise in prices against the backdrop of the Middle East crisis, this proposal did not receive support from Washington.

Trump has reportedly expressed reluctance to impose new sanctions at all.

“Let the Europeans start first. It’s costing us billions,” he said.

Instead, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer announced new restrictions against 20 Russian tankers and the companies that service them, and called for a tougher oil embargo to limit Russia’s revenues.

At the same time, the European Commission is close to adopting a new sanctions package, which includes a ban on the import of oil refined in third countries, as well as an obligation for countries to publish plans to abandon Russian energy sources.

“Russia has lost tens of billions of dollars. Its economy is shrinking, and its gold and foreign exchange reserves are melting. We will not let them replenish the military treasury,” said EU Foreign Affairs Chief Kaia Kallas.

Zelensky visited Austria ahead of the summit, trying to bring it into the peace process as a neutral mediator. Some Ukrainian officials see Austria as a more credible mediator than Turkey, which has an economic interest in ending the war.

Despite his obvious fatigue and frustration, Zelensky refrained from criticizing Trump during a press conference with the Canadian prime minister. He stressed that Ukraine needed support so that “our soldiers could hold out until Russia is ready for peace.”

It was previously reported that Volodymyr Zelensky and Donald Trump are preparing to meet on the sidelines of the G7 summit , which is underway in the Canadian town of Kananaskis. It is expected that the dialogue between the leaders will take place in the format of a bilateral meeting outside the official part of the forum. Subsequently, Volodymyr Zelensky said that during the meeting with American leader Donald Trump he will discuss the defense package that Ukraine is ready to buy.

By the way, on the eve of the NATO summit, which will be held on June 24-26 in The Hague, a draft final declaration was published, which has already caused a wave of criticism. The document does not mention the prospect of Ukraine joining the Alliance , and there are no specific commitments regarding long-term security support for Kyiv.

On the eve, NATO members plan to consider military aid to Ukraine as an allocation of funds for their own defense. Earlier, NATO Secretary General Rutte reported that all 32 member countries of the Alliance confirmed that Ukraine’s accession to the Alliance is irreversible , although they did not specify the final timeframe for this process. It should be noted that French and British officials are preparing a “plan B” in case the US refuses to support Ukraine .

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