NATO is considering how to invite Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to the summit of Alliance leaders in The Hague without irritating US President Donald Trump.

Source:AFP, as reported by European Pravda

Details:This week, Zelenskyy said he had received an invitation from NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte to attend the summit. NATO also confirmed that "Ukraine will be with us in The Hague".

Meanwhile, diplomats who spoke on condition of anonymity said that Zelenskyy may attend a dinner organised by King Willem-Alexander of the Netherlands for NATO leaders, but there will most likely be no official talks between Ukraine and the Alliance.

"It will be a PR disaster if he [Zelenskyy – ed.] is not there," said one European diplomat on condition of anonymity.

Meanwhile, the agency notes that how Zelenskyy will be treated in The Hague largely depends on progress in negotiations with Russia, if any. So far, two rounds of meetings in Istanbul have yielded insufficient results.

Meanwhile, Rutte insists that Ukraine remains a "priority" issue at the summit.

Diplomats, however, say that the main focus will be on reaching an agreement on increasing defence spending that will satisfy Trump.

Officials predict that the Alliance will reach a compromise on Rutte's proposal: 3.5% of GDP for core defence and 1.5% for broader spending.

"Defence spending is the most important part and no one wants to jeopardise that," said another diplomat.

In addition, NATO wants to keep the summit's final declaration short and not mention Ukraine's possible membership so as not to cause a split.

"There will be nothing on that. My expectation is we will be absolutely silent," said one diplomat.

Also, as the agency points out, there will be no joint statement on military support from the 32 Alliance countries, given that Trump is not providing any assistance to Ukraine.

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