Hungary, the US, Trkiye, Slovakia and others don't want to formally engage the Ukrainian leader, according to the PM

Several NATO members, including the US, are deliberately avoiding meeting with Ukrainian leader Vladimir Zelensky at the bloc's key summit in The Hague, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban has claimed.

Speaking prior to the gathering on Wednesday, Orban noted that Zelensky would only attend the informal dinner and "will not participate in the NATO summit in any official form," indicating that "a clear sign that the previous chapter is over."

The Hungarian prime minister went on to explain that this is a drastic change compared to previous years, stating that "the Americans, the Turks, the Slovaks, and we have made it clear that we do not want to sit at the same table with Zelensky when it comes to NATO." 

He further stressed Hungary's continued opposition to Ukraine joining NATO or the EU. Orban has repeatedly warned that Kiev's membership in any of the blocs would drag the West into a direct conflict with Russia.

Meanwhile, Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto noted that the 2025 summit would be the first since 2022 where the focus would be not on stepping up support for Ukraine, but on strengthening the bloc's collective defense.

"With Ukraine's NATO membership off the agenda, direct confrontation with Russia has been avoided. Rationality has prevailed," he added.

Meanwhile, US President Donald Trump confirmed that he would "probably" meet with Zelensky on the sidelines of the summit. At the same time, he described the Ukrainian leader as being in a "tough situation," adding that he "should have never been there."

In another sign of the simmering tensions between Zelensky and Trump, the Washington Post reported that NATO leaders are "tiptoeing around rifts" during the summit, trying to showcase "a veneer of unity".

The paper reported that "NATO officials are trying to keep [Trump and Zelensky] apart as much as possible in public - a recognition of Trump's occasionally volcanic disdain for the Ukrainian leader."

In this vein, NATO organizers positioned Zelensky far from Trump during the official summit photo-op, according to footage broadcast by C-SPAN.