The shift is easy to miss because it was announced in a dull press briefing. On June 17, NATO chief Mark Rutte said Volodymyr Zelensky would not sit in the plenary session at the Ankara summit on July 7-8. He would attend events on the sidelines, with a programme like the one at The Hague the year before. In Rutte’s words: “So, many meetings, but no sit-down with all the leaders.”
What’s changing is how much a speaking slot is worth to Ukraine. The MadMax column called the leaders’ plenary the most solemn part of any summit, with 32 seats at the table. For a country fighting for more than three years, being kept out carries heavy symbolism. TASS added that, unlike in 2023 and 2024, no Ukraine-NATO Council session of leaders was on the schedule.
The workaround
Kyiv’s answer was to work the corridors. Berlin Today counted close to 20 one-on-one sessions with leaders. The trend underneath is that smaller, concrete deals now matter more than one grand statement. He left with fresh bilateral agreements with Estonia, the Netherlands and Denmark. Berlin Today named Germany, Norway, Finland and Canada as possible partners for further drone deals.
The summit as a whole committed around 70 billion euros for Ukraine’s war effort, and the declaration spoke of unwavering support. The firm guarantee Kyiv wanted stayed out of reach. Trump, per Berlin Today, spoke of a possible security package and said Washington would assist Europe provided a suitable deal came together. An assurance with that condition attached is not yet a guarantee.
Allies not of one mind
The exclusion also exposes a split. Poland, the Baltic states and the United Kingdom have long favoured faster, more visible integration of Ukraine, according to MadMax, while other capitals fear escalation with Russia. The column noted that the Ankara announcement came the day after US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth, at a ministerial in Brussels, criticised European allies over weak military investment. Another controversy over Zelensky’s place would have been unwelcome.
Morale and attention
The same outlet judged the Ukrainian delegation content but not reassured. Foreign Policy found a second worry. Trump spent much of the summit on Iran, and the US started bombing Iran again in the middle of it. Lithuania’s foreign minister, Kestutis Budrys, put the cost simply: hours spent on other issues are hours not spent on Ukraine, which can translate into less capability for Kyiv.
There was one tangible gain. Trump said on Wednesday that Ukraine would get a licence to make Patriot air defence systems, though he admitted the company had not been informed yet.
Sources
- Zelensky to be excluded from NATO summit plenary session in Ankara – Rutte (TASS)
- Rutte Confirms It, Zelensky Will Wait on the Sidelines of the Ankara Summit (MadMax)
- Zelensky Chased Firm Promises in Ankara, and Left With a Mix of Cash and Maybes (Berlin Today)
- Trump Hands NATO a Mixed Bag (Foreign Policy)
