Trump Hosts Netanyahu and Zelenskiy
PHOTO CAPTION: FILE PHOTO: U.S. President Donald Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy shake hands during a press conference after their lunch meeting at Trump?s Mar-a-Lago club, in Palm Beach, Florida, U.S., December 28, 2025. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst/File Photo
WASHINGTON, July 28 — President Donald Trump was set to host Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy on Tuesday as the wars involving Iran and Ukraine reached critical stages.
Trump’s relationships with the two leaders have moved in different directions.
Ties with Zelenskiy have improved as Ukraine has slowed Russian advances. Netanyahu arrives amid growing White House frustration over the lack of progress toward a broader settlement in the Iran conflict and opposition from some Trump supporters to deeper U.S. involvement in the Middle East.
Netanyahu and Zelenskiy were also in Washington to attend a memorial service for Senator Lindsey Graham, a hawkish Republican and close Trump ally who frequently pressed the president to provide greater support for Ukraine.
Zelenskiy said anti-ballistic missile defense and strategic cooperation with the United States would be his top priorities in meetings with Trump and his team.
“Peace needs to be brought closer,” Zelenskiy said in a post on X after arriving in Washington.
Trump has paused U.S. airstrikes against Iran following the collapse of a ceasefire, saying he wants to give diplomacy another opportunity.
Ukraine, meanwhile, has been encouraged by recent battlefield successes. Neither conflict has a clear end in sight.
Netanyahu’s relationship with Trump has been strained at times. Trump has sought to prevent the Israeli leader from attacking targets in Lebanon as part of efforts to weaken Iran-backed Hezbollah militants.
Tensions between the two leaders became public after an acrimonious phone call in June during which Trump called Netanyahu “fucking crazy.” The remark was leaked to the media and later confirmed publicly by Trump.
Sources familiar with the matter said Netanyahu hopes to secure Trump’s support for his re-election campaign ahead of an October 27 vote.
A meeting that highlights the traditionally close relationship between the two leaders could help Netanyahu politically at home, where he has struggled in opinion polls.
“In these complex times, you need to act with both great determination and great wisdom,” Netanyahu said in a video statement before leaving for Washington.
“We will discuss all the issues on the agenda, primarily Iran,” he said. “Of course, our goal is to protect our security and also to expand the circle of peace around us.”
A White House official said Trump and Netanyahu would discuss the conflict involving Iran and tensions between Israel and Lebanon. Trump hosted Lebanon’s president last week.
They were also expected to discuss the Abraham Accords, the agreements brokered by Trump that normalized diplomatic relations between Israel and the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Morocco and Sudan.
Trump wants Saudi Arabia to join the agreements. Last week, he made a civilian nuclear cooperation deal with the kingdom conditional on Riyadh joining the accords.
Saudi Arabia has rejected joining without a path toward Palestinian statehood.
“Bibi’s been great,” Trump told reporters Monday aboard Air Force One, using Netanyahu’s nickname. “He was a wartime prime minister. We did very well together.”
Trump and Zelenskiy clashed repeatedly during the early months of Trump’s second term, but their relationship has improved as Ukraine has achieved greater success in the war, including through increased attacks on Russia’s oil industry.
Zelenskiy was expected to hold a short private meeting with Trump at the White House, likely without reporters present, according to a source familiar with the plans.
A Ukrainian source said Patriot missile interceptors were Kyiv’s highest priority.
“We’re experiencing strikes every day so we need Trump’s and his team’s ‘okay’ to let us buy missiles for Patriots,” the source said. “It’s a top priority to save lives.”
Zelenskiy was expected to press Trump for urgently needed air-defense capabilities and completion of a drone agreement with the United States.
The leaders were also likely to discuss Trump’s promise at the NATO summit to grant Ukraine a license to produce Patriot interceptors.
Zelenskiy spoke last week with U.S. envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner about prospects for renewed peace talks with Russia. He said Ukrainian and U.S. officials could meet in the United States in the coming days.
“With President Zelenskiy, President Trump will discuss the ongoing peace process between Russia and Ukraine,” the White House official said. “Now is the time to end the war.”
After his White House meeting, Zelenskiy was expected to travel to the U.S. Capitol to meet with all 100 senators.
His visit comes after a Pentagon letter informed lawmakers that the Trump administration would not finish spending $400 million in previously authorized aid for Ukraine until fiscal year 2029.
The delay comes as Kyiv faces critical shortages of weapons needed to defend against Russian missile attacks.
Democrats and some Republicans have criticized the Pentagon for delaying aid approved with bipartisan support last year.
(Source: Reuters)
