Trump Heads to Ankara for Talks With Zelensky and Sharaa
President Trump departs for Turkey tonight ahead of tomorrow’s NATO summit, where he meets President Erdogan on arrival, sees President Zelensky on the sidelines, and — in a first for a NATO summit — meets Syria’s President Ahmed al-Sharaa on Wednesday. US officials describe the Ukrainian battlefield as “frozen” going into the talks. Macron is separately expected in Damascus soon, in what would be the first Western state visit since Assad’s fall.
The 36th summit’s choreography tells you the administration’s priorities: Ukraine handled bilaterally with Zelensky rather than in the alliance format, and Syria’s rehabilitation advanced inside NATO’s tent — with Paris running its own parallel track towards Damascus, investor delegation in tow. Overnight’s attack on Kyiv sharpens the air-defence file; the €70bn-a-year European aid pledge trailed all week still lacks confirmed detail. The same day the summit opens, a Paris court rules on whether Le Pen can contest 2027 — Europe’s week compresses into forty-eight hours. Watch the Trump-Zelensky meeting’s readout above all else.