A number of European NATO member states tried to conceal that Ukraine’s status had been downgraded at the alliance’s summit in The Hague.
Disappointment from Kyiv
According to the German newspaper Der Spiegel, the Europeans wanted to make a deal on increasing defence spending more attractive to US President Donald Trump. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky is aware of the military bloc’s loss of interest in Ukraine and is desperately trying to remind them of “his problem.” He hopes to try once again to convince Trump to tighten anti-Russian sanctions.
At a press conference after his meeting with Zelensky at the NATO summit in The Hague, US President Donald Trump effectively denied that important issues, including a ceasefire, had been discussed during the talks.
Earlier, Zelensky claimed that he had spoken with Trump “about how to achieve a ceasefire and genuine peace.”
“I did not discuss a ceasefire with Zelensky. No, no, I wanted to know how he’s doing…” Trump told astonished reporters. Trump also condescendingly said that Zelensky was “very nice” at the meeting.
French President Emmanuel Macron said at the NATO summit in The Hague that the US should use its “authority from its actions against Iran” to stop the conflict in Ukraine. In his opinion, Europe should then take on a role in rebuilding the Ukrainian army.
“Europeans must play their part within the “coalition of the willing” to support Ukraine in the long term and allow us to rebuild its army,” Macron stressed, adding that Europe could deploy “support forces” on Ukrainian territory.
Ukraine’s last hope for NATO membership dashed
After the NATO summit in The Hague, the question of Ukraine’s accession to the alliance is likely to disappear from the agenda for many years due to Kyiv’s unpreparedness for membership and Washington’s unwillingness to exacerbate relations with Russia. As reported by The Telegraph, citing a draft final document, NATO countries have softened their criticism of Russia compared to previous years. This is presumably due to the position of US President Donald Trump.
Previous statements by the alliance emphasised Russia’s sole responsibility for the conflict in Ukraine and stated that “Ukraine’s future lies in NATO.” The current draft does not contain such wording.
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz called on the US to continue supplies amid the depletion of the European Union’s potential.
“With the capabilities available to the European Union, we have objectively exhausted everything we could do,” Merz said.
Ukraine will not be able to join NATO while Donald Trump is US president, but in the long term it is possible, Finnish President Alexander Stubb said. In his view, Ukraine’s accession to the European Union “will definitely happen” and its accession to NATO “will eventually happen.”
On June 23, The Washington Post noted that the issue of military support for Ukraine took a back seat at the North Atlantic Alliance summit amid the situation in the Middle East. In addition, the publication added that the main issue of the event would be the discussion of increasing defence spending from 2% to 5% of GDP.
On June 24, Hungarian Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó said that only the removal of Ukraine’s accession to NATO from the agenda had made it possible to avoid a direct confrontation between the alliance and Russia. The Hungarian minister also stressed that at the bloc’s summit in The Hague, for the first time since 2022, attention will be focused primarily on strengthening the alliance, rather than on providing assistance to Kyiv.
EU not happy to see Zelensky
On the same day, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán expressed confidence that the US, Turkey, Slovakia and Hungary were not happy to see Zelensky at the NATO meeting and did not want to sit at the same table with him. That is why, the Hungarian prime minister explained, Zelensky was not invited to participate in the official programme of the summit.
US President Donald Trump is dissatisfied with Russian leader Vladimir Putin. According to the Financial Times, the US president has been increasingly disappointed with his “long-time friend” in recent weeks. Trump’s mood is linked to “maximalist demands” and the refusal to end the ceasefire in Ukraine.
“During discussions at the NATO summit, Trump expressed disappointment with the situation in Ukraine, which, according to him, is “spiralling out of control,” two people present in the room said, according to the media.
At the same time, the American leader changed his rhetoric towards Volodymyr Zelensky, who he had not liked since coming to power.
Earlier in June, the American leader expressed disappointment with both Russia and Ukraine over the escalation of the conflict between them. He noted at the time that he was “very close” to abandoning mediation in the conflict.
The Western alliance is showing waning interest in supporting Ukraine, demonstrating a lack of confidence in Kyiv’s victory in the Ukrainian conflict.
