With the NATO summit set to take place in The Hague this month, a sensitive question is stirring up foreign ministries: how to allow Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to participate without provoking the ire of Donald Trump? The American president, whose criticisms of the alliance are well known, has reportedly already expressed reservations about the presence of his Ukrainian counterpart, with whom he has strained relations.
To date, NATO has not officially confirmed whether Zelenskiy will be invited to the summit. Diplomatic sources have suggested he may only be invited to an informal dinner hosted in advance by the Dutch king, rather than to the full meeting with heads of state. This caution reflects a desire not to upset Trump, who threatened to leave NATO at a 2018 summit and now opposes Ukraine's integration into the alliance, going so far as to temporarily freeze US military aid to Kyiv earlier this year.
Since Russia's invasion of Ukraine in 2022, Zelenskyy has attended every NATO summit as a guest of honor. His absence—or a reduced presence—would be seen as a major political setback for Kyiv, which is currently engaged in a war with Moscow. European allies, keen to demonstrate solidarity with Ukraine, are seeking a compromise to allow Zelenskyy to be "properly represented," as he himself stated after a meeting with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte.
At the same time, Trump is expected to leave The Hague with a political victory. NATO members plan to agree to a historic increase in their military spending, raising the current target of 2 percent of GDP to 3,5 percent, with an additional 1,5 percent for related areas such as cybersecurity and infrastructure. These announcements are aimed at addressing Trump's long-standing criticism of the "disproportionate burden" borne by the United States within the alliance.
Despite this apparent reconciliation, tensions remain palpable. The summit will be deliberately short, its final statement moderate, and the idea of a new strategy towards Russia has been abandoned. A NATO-Ukraine Council, an official coordinating body, is also not expected to be convened. For Zelenskiy, an invitation to a simple dinner would be the bare minimum, but his absence from the central session would send a far-reaching political signal at a time when the war in Ukraine remains the main security challenge in Europe.
