US President Donald Trump will hold separate bilateral meetings with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa on the margins of the NATO summit in Ankara on 8 July, the White House confirmed on Sunday. The summit, hosted by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan on 7–8 July, will also see Trump press allies to raise defence spending to 5 per cent of GDP, a demand that has deepened transatlantic strains already aggravated by the US-led war against Iran.

On Ukraine, a senior US official, briefing reporters on condition of anonymity, said the battlefield had “clearly frozen” in recent months and that Trump felt “a real sense of urgency” to halt the fighting. The official indicated Trump would discuss with Zelenskyy “how we can end the war” and would subsequently speak with Russian President Vladimir Putin. The Kremlin’s foreign policy aide, Yuri Ushakov, said Trump had reaffirmed his readiness to facilitate a swift cessation of hostilities during a 90-minute phone call with Putin on Saturday. Zelenskyy, who also spoke with Trump that day, described a “real prospect of ending this war” and said talks would continue in Ankara. European governments, according to diplomats in Brussels, have urged Washington to revive stalled US-mediated negotiations between Kyiv and Moscow, which have been sidelined by the administration’s focus on the Iran conflict.

The meeting with al-Sharaa, whose rebel forces overthrew Bashar al-Assad, comes after Trump repeatedly suggested Syria should take military action against Hezbollah in Lebanon. Al-Sharaa has publicly rejected the idea, stating in June that Damascus was seeking “economic channels, not military channels” with Beirut. US officials provided no details on the agenda, but analysts in the Middle East view the encounter as an attempt by Washington to explore Syria’s potential role in a regional security architecture reshaped by the Iran war and the fragile ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah.

The summit unfolds against a backdrop of deep friction within the alliance. Trump has berated European allies for refusing to allow the use of their bases for strikes on Iran and for what he calls insufficient burden-sharing. The US ambassador to NATO, Matt Whitaker, said Trump expects allies to reach the 5 per cent spending target “as soon as possible.” Meanwhile, the administration’s announcement of a 5,000-troop withdrawal from Europe and its continued interest in acquiring Greenland have unsettled NATO members. Secretary-General Mark Rutte, who has sought to manage the tensions, praised Trump for pushing defence spending increases but faces criticism in European capitals for an overly deferential approach. Trump is scheduled to hold a press conference before departing Ankara on Wednesday, after which the diplomatic focus is expected to shift to his follow-up call with Putin.