President Donald Trump will hold separate bilateral meetings with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Syrian transitional President Ahmad al-Sharaa on Wednesday on the margins of the NATO summit in Ankara, the White House confirmed. The talks, scheduled after Trump’s Tuesday meeting with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, are set against a backdrop of transatlantic friction over defence spending, the U.S.-led war with Iran, and Trump’s repeated questioning of the alliance’s value. A senior U.S. official, briefing reporters on condition of anonymity, said the Zelenskyy meeting would focus on “how we can end the war,” adding that Trump “feels a real sense of urgency” to halt a conflict where, in the administration’s assessment, neither side is making significant battlefield progress.

Viewed from Kyiv, the encounter is an opportunity to refocus Washington’s attention on the war with Russia, which has entered its fifth year. Zelenskyy, who spoke by phone with Trump on Saturday, stated that “America’s determination will be crucial” to ending the war. Kremlin foreign policy aide Yuri Ushakov said Trump, in a separate 90-minute call with Vladimir Putin the same day, reaffirmed his readiness to facilitate a rapid cessation of hostilities. The U.S. official indicated Trump would likely contact Putin again after the Ankara meeting with Zelenskyy. European officials, according to summit preparatory documents seen by Reuters, expect leaders to pledge €70 billion in military equipment, assistance, and training for Ukraine in 2026, with the United States not contributing funding.

Trump’s arrival in Ankara will also intensify his administration’s push for what it terms “burden-shifting” within the alliance. U.S. Ambassador to NATO Matt Whitaker said the president expects all allies to reach the 5%-of-GDP defence spending target “as soon as possible,” not merely by the 2035 deadline agreed at last year’s Hague summit. A draft summit declaration notes that European allies and Canada increased core defence investments by more than $139 billion in 2025, but U.S. officials stress that many members still lag. The summit will host a defence industry forum where deals worth tens of billions of dollars are to be announced, a signal, according to NATO planners, of the alliance’s intent to scale up weapons production and innovation.

Ties between Washington and European capitals have been further strained by the Iran war, which erupted on 28 February without prior consultation of allies. Trump has criticised several NATO members for refusing access to bases for early strikes and for not joining operations to reopen the Strait of Hormuz. The summit declaration is expected to call on Iran to respect freedom of navigation in the strait, but a U.S. official acknowledged that many allies lack the naval assets to contribute. Meanwhile, Trump’s stated aim to acquire Greenland, a territory of NATO member Denmark, and announced plans to withdraw 5,000 troops from Europe have deepened unease. The summit is scheduled to conclude on Wednesday with a Trump press conference before his return to Washington.