Trump’s comments on deep strikes into Russia and Patriot licensing deal are positive signals for Ukraine and Zelenskyy – snap analysis
Let’s see how much of that translates into actual actions, but on the face of it – although there is an obvious problem with looking at that with Trump – this was a very positive briefing for Ukraine and Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
The US president repeatedly praised Zelenskyy – even laughing at one point at how fair the pair has come since that infamous Oval Office meeting last year (14:58) – and talked about his hopes of developing postwar Ukraine and tapping into its “tremendous potential.”
Sure, there were still some troubling bits when he appeared to disregard the pretty fundamental difference between an aggressor and a victim with his “kids fighting in a park” metaphor (15:03), and when he talked about his personal relationship with Putin.
But what will matter for Ukraine more is his apparent backing for Kyiv’s strikes inside Russia (15:06), a very strong suggestion that Ukraine will get a licensing deal to produce “defensive” Patriot missiles (15:09; although big questions remain on timings here), and a clear and repeated pledge to push for a peace deal to “save lives” (15:13) and offer strong security guarantees to hold up any future deal (15:19).
There was also a hint of genuine admiration for Ukraine’s incredible process on drone production, with Trump suggesting that the US “would buy their drones” (15:25) – something that would have been unthinkable even a year ago.
Key events
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Trump addresses the media after Nato summit in Ankara
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Greenland not for sale, the territory’s prime minister insists after Trump’s comments
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Leaders ‘made a big contribution to Nato staying together,’ Merz says after Ankara summit
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Nato emerged ‘stronger and more united’ after Ankara summit, Starmer says
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Italy’s Meloni says no regrets over her attempts to strike partnership with Trump, despite fallout
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Spain’s Sánchez insists US-Spanish relations remain ‘very positive’ despite Trump’s comments
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Nato ‘stronger than ever’ after Ankara summit with ‘huge sense of unity’ among leaders, Rutte says
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Trump’s comments on deep strikes into Russia and Patriot licensing deal are positive signals for Ukraine and Zelenskyy – snap analysis
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Nato’s Rutte briefing press after Ankara summit
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Trump says US would be prepared to buy Ukrainian drones
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Trump suggests he would be prepared to travel to Ukraine ‘at the right time’
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Trump says US ready to offer security guarantees to Ukraine ‘to save lives’
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Trump heavily suggests Europe, Ukraine could get licences for Patriot missile production
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Ukrainian strikes deep in Russia ‘an escalation … that can help lead to an end,’ Trump says
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‘They are going to make a deal,’ Trump says on Russian aggression on Ukraine
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Trump says US will ‘hit [Iran] hard again tonight’
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‘We’ve made lot of progress in the last couple of week,’ Trump says of Ukraine war talks
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Trump praises ‘good meetings’ at Nato and ‘very good relationship’ with Zelenskyy
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‘An attack on one is an attack on all,’ Nato leaders reaffirm ‘ironclad’ pledge as they point to Russia threat, back Ukraine, and call for a ‘modernised’ alliance
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Trump ‘did not lash out’ at Nato leaders during meeting, Nato sources say
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Trump told Nato allies he wants to keep US in the alliance, Reuters says
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European Parliament rebukes Ukraine’s Zelenskyy over military renaming row with Poland
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Tell us: have you been affected by the wildfires in southern Europe?
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Ukraine’s Zelenskyy meets with allies to lobby on EU membership, air defence, sanctions
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Lithuania, Estonia brag about being in ‘5% club’ at Nato summit as top GDP to defence spenders
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‘We will not stop defending them,’ EU says after Trump’s Greenland comments
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EU expects US to ‘honour its commitments’ on trade, and ‘will always ensure’ member states are protected after Trump’s Spain threats
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Nato summit arrivals – in pictures
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Madrid downplaying Trump’s renewed threats to cut trade with Spain
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Leaders arrive for official welcome as Nato summit in Ankara gets underway
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Trump’s theatrical threat to cut off all trade with Spain is not new – snap analysis
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Trump is not in a mood to hold back – snap analysis
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‘As far as I am concerned, it’s over,’ Trump says of Iran memorandum of understanding
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Greenland ‘is very important for US, but not important for Denmark,’ Trump says
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Nato ‘have not treated us right,’ ‘very upset’ Trump says, as he repeats Greenland is ‘big problem for us’
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Trump says he is not happy with Nato; says Spain is ‘terrible partner,’ tells officials to ‘cut all trade with Spain’
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Nato leaders meet in Ankara – live stream
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Ankara summit ‘about implementation, getting things done,’ Nato’s Rutte says
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Morning opening: What could possibly go wrong?
Trump addresses the media after Nato summit in Ankara
Trump is, finally, here.
I will bring you all the lines here, or you can watch below.
Denmark is ready to defend every inch of NATO, including the kingdom of Denmark, Danish PM Mette Frederiksen said in Ankara, a day after U.S. president Donald Trump reiterated that Greenland should be controlled by the U.S.
Greenland’s prime minister Jens-Frederik Nielsen also rejected Trump’s remarks on Wednesday.
“We are ready to defend every inch of NATO, including our own territory… Of course we will defend the Kingdom of Denmark,” Frederiksen said, reiterating that Greenland was not for sale.
She added: “One of the reasons why we have built NATO many, many years ago, is if anything happens to one of us, then everybody should stand up for each other.”
Jakub Krupa
As we are still waiting for Donald Trump, I am handing the blog over to Nadeem Badshah, who will guide you through the press conference when it finally happens.
Greenland not for sale, the territory’s prime minister insists after Trump’s comments
Greenland is not for sale, the island’s head of government Jens-Frederik Nielsen said after US president Donald Trump renewed his demand to control the Arctic territory at a Nato summit in Ankara, Reuters reported.
“Repeated calls for the takeover or control of our country do not change this,” Nielsen wrote in a post on Facebook.
Leaders ‘made a big contribution to Nato staying together,’ Merz says after Ankara summit
Meanwhile, German chancellor Friedrich Merz said his expectations of the summit were more than fulfilled, AP reported.
He said he’s “returning to Germany with the feeling that we made a big contribution to Nato staying together, to it becoming stronger, to it becoming more European.”
Merz said there was “a new feeling of European responsibility in the room.”
He was also quoted by Reuters as saying that the era of “free-riding of the Europeans in Nato is over,” and praising Mark Rutte for his leadership in Nato.
Jakub Krupa
Still waiting.
It is looking like the press conference room is now ready for Trump, so that should get under way shortly.
We will bring it live here, obviously.
Separately, can I just bring to your attention the absolutely amazing tea glasses they used for Starmer’s meeting with Turkey’s Erdoğan?
Nato emerged ‘stronger and more united’ after Ankara summit, Starmer says
Meanwhile, UK’s outgoing prime minister Keir Starmer said that Nato had emerged from its annual summit “stronger and more united”, citing US president Donald Trump’s closing remarks which he said had praised the spirit and unity of the meeting.
“President Trump summed up and said that he was very pleased to welcome the spirit of the meeting and the unity of the meeting, and therefore, in terms of what’s the outcome here, and answering that question ‘is Nato stronger and more united coming out of this summit?’ then the answer is yes to that,” Starmer told reporters in commnents reported by Reuters.
During his Syria meeting, Trump gets asked about his comments on Spain earlier (10:13), with a suggestion he cannot just cut trade ties with Spain, but would need to change the US relationship with the EU more broadly.
He says “we are going to see what happens with the EU,” as “they have treated us very badly for years and took advantage” of the US.
But then he inexplicably goes in a very different direction, ending with comments about “trillions of investments,” specifying that’s “trillions with a t.”
He then speaks about a few other things, including the price of eggs, and wraps it up.
Italy’s Meloni says no regrets over her attempts to strike partnership with Trump, despite fallout
Meanwhile, Italy’s prime minister Giorgia Meloni said that, despite her recent fallout in relations with Trump, she did not regret her efforts to strike a close partnership with the US president.
“No, I absolutely don’t regret anything I have done,” Meloni told reporters in Ankara, Reuters reported.
“I made that political investment because I believe in the unity of the West. It’s not a strategy I adopted with Trump’s arrival, but one I have pursued with all my counterparts,” she said.
Meloni acknowledged that “things are going the way we have seen” between her and Trump, but stressed that they still shared common ground on issues including immigration and opposition to what she described as “woke culture“.
Trump has now moved on to his next meeting, with Syria’s president Ahmed al-Sharaa, so guess we will have to wait a bit longer until he shows up for his final press conference of the summit.
He’s speaking alongside al-Sharaa now, praising his track record in Syria, and saying the country “has become very stable.”
By the way, Ukraine’s Zelenskyy is clearly happy with how his meeting with Trump has gone.
He posted a snap from their chat on X, saying:
We can accomplish a great deal together.
