Trump to meet leaders of Ukraine, Syria alongside NATO summit

WASHINGTON, July 5 - U.S. President Donald Trump will meet with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy while in Turkey this week for the NATO summit to make a renewed push to end the war in Ukraine, a senior U.S. official said on Sunday.

Trump is scheduled to arrive at the summit on Tuesday. His first meeting will be with summit host, Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan. Trump will also meet Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa and hold a press conference, the White House said.

A senior U.S. official who briefed reporters on condition of anonymity about the trip said Trump will meet with Zelenskiy on Wednesday to discuss "how we can end the war."

"The battlefield has clearly frozen over the last couple of months and neither side is making a lot of progress," the official said. "The president feels a real sense of urgency to try to bring this to a stop."

Trump will also urge NATO allies to increase their defense spending, the official said. REUTERS