Ukraine eyes G7 sidelines for Zelenskyy–Trump talks

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and US President Donald Trump may meet later this month during the Group of Seven summit in Canada, according to Zelenskyy's chief of staff Andriy Yermak.

Speaking in a televised interview on June 6, Yermak confirmed that a Ukrainian delegation he led to Washington earlier this week was partly focused on preparing a potential meeting between the two leaders, Caliber.Az reports via Bloomberg.

“Our visit was preparation, among other things, for a meeting between Zelenskyy and Trump on the sidelines of the G7 summit in Canada,” he said.

The G7 summit is scheduled to take place from June 15 to 17 in Kananaskis, Alberta.

In addition to the G7, a NATO summit is set to be held later in June in The Hague. Although Ukraine is not a NATO member, President Zelenskyy may still attend part of the event. According to a Reuters report citing diplomatic sources, Zelenskyy is expected to participate in a preliminary dinner but will be excluded from the main meetings.

Reuters also reported that summit organisers are planning to limit discussion of Ukraine-related topics and are carefully scheduling engagements to avoid inflaming tensions with Trump. The goal is to ensure that Zelenskyy's presence in The Hague does not “provoke” the US president, a reference to the sharp exchange between the two leaders at the White House in February.

In light of these sensitivities, NATO has opted to shorten the summit’s official agenda and final communiqué. Plans to outline a new strategy toward Russia have been deferred, and the usual NATO-Ukraine Council will not take place this year. Instead, a working dinner is under consideration, likely to involve foreign or defence ministers.

Zelenskyy has already held a meeting with Trump since the US president began his second term and has also spoken with him by phone. Their next encounter could come soon after the latest round of direct Russia-Ukraine negotiations, which took place on June 2 in Istanbul.

Following Trump’s return to office, the United States positioned itself as a potential mediator in the peace process between Kyiv and Moscow. However, Washington has since warned it may withdraw from mediation efforts if tangible progress is not achieved.

By Tamilla Hasanova