The US President Donald Trump was not interested in meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, which was one of the reasons he left the G7 summit in Canada early, which was taking place on June 16-17.
This is reported by the Financial Times, citing people familiar with the matter.
The publication notes that the US presidentʼs decision to leave the summit early was also influenced by irritation with French President Emmanuel Macron, who visited Greenland on June 15 and opposed Trumpʼs plans to take control of it. Macron became the first foreign leader to visit the island after Trumpʼs threats of annexation, Le Figaro wrote.
Ahead of the G7 leadersʼ meeting, Axios reported that Trump and Zelensky were scheduled to meet on the second day of the G7 summit in Canada, which was focused on supporting Ukraine. However, the US president left the event early, citing the escalation in the Middle East between Iran and Israel as the official reason.
In light of the US president leaving the G7 leadersʼ meeting early, NATO has shortened the upcoming summit to one working session so that "Trump doesnʼt get bored and leave early".
Originally planned to last three days, the summit has been reduced to a single two-and-a-half-hour working session, bringing together 32 leaders to discuss NATO spending commitments. There will also be an informal dinner on Tuesday hosted by the King and Queen of the Netherlands.
One official explained that the main goal is to make the summit as short and focused as possible, with minimal opportunity for disruption.
Claudia Major, senior vice president of the German Marshall Fund, told an FT Live event in Berlin on Thursday that the session had been shortened from two days to two hours, so she thought it was possible and hoped it would work. But she said she was no longer trying to predict Trumpʼs actions.
- The US President Donald Trump has repeatedly demanded that European leaders invest more money in NATO. He has previously said that he would “encourage” Russia to “do whatever it wants” with NATO member states that have failed to meet their financial obligations to the Alliance.
- Under the plan, drawn up by Secretary General Mark Rutte, allies would commit to spending 3.5% of GDP on core defence spending by 2032 and an additional 1.5% on related spending, including on cybersecurity and defence-related infrastructure. The deadline was later extended to 2035. Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez wrote to NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte that he would oppose the plan to raise the defence spending target to 5%. This will be discussed at the Alliance summit.
- As of 2024, the Alliance leaders in defense spending as a percentage of GDP were Poland (4.12%), Estonia (3.43%), the United States (3.38%), Latvia (3.15%), and Greece (3.08%).
For more news and in-depth stories from Ukraine, please follow us on X.