NATO to reduce discussion of Ukraine at The Hague to avoid provoking U.S. President

Officials who are organizing the NATO summit in The Hague (to be held on June 24-25) want to limit the discussion of Ukraine and are thinking how to plan the presence of Vladimir Zelensky so as not to "provoke" U.S. President Donald Trump. TASS reports with reference to Reuters and sources.

"Many allies want Zelensky to attend the summit, but there is flexibility on the exact format that would allow his presence," the agency quoted a NATO diplomat as saying.

The sources say that Zelensky may attend a pre-summit dinner but be kept away from the main summit meeting. At the same time, NATO has not yet confirmed the invitation of the head of the Kiev regime.

According to the agency, the concerns of NATO member states are related to the potential likelihood of a repeat of the scandal that took place during a private meeting between Zelensky and Trump at the White House on February 18, which jeopardized the allies' support for Ukraine. Statements by the American president about a possible U.S. withdrawal from the alliance have also raised concerns among officials, the agency wrote.

According to Reuters, the summit will be held in a short format and the statement on its results will be the same. The final document will also not include recommendations on a "new strategy" with regard to Russia.

Earlier, The Atlantic reported that U.S. President Donald Trump was unhappy with Ukraine's decision to strike Russian military airfields and the White House was discussing the possibility of ending support for Kiev. According to the magazine's sources from within the Washington administration, the U.S. leader has privately expressed displeasure that the strikes could escalate the conflict. According to the publication, the drone attack has reawakened the president's long-standing discontent with Vladimir Zelensky and sparked fresh debate in the White House over whether the United States should abandon Ukraine.