Zelenskyy to join King’s NATO reception during Summit

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy will not be allowed to attend official meetings at the upcoming NATO summit in The Hague. But he will be welcome at the dinner at the palace, to which King Willem-Alexander invited the NATO leaders, according to the official program for the summit.

There has been a lot of talk about Zelenskyy’s role in The Hague next week. The United States objected to inviting the Ukrainian President, who was a guest of honor at previous summits. But European allies insisted that Zelenskyy attend.

At the insistence of European countries, there will be an official meeting between NATO and Ukraine. But this time, the NATO-Ukraine council will not include the leaders, as was the case last year in Washington, but the Foreign Ministers. Their “working dinner” will coincide with the royal dinner for the NATO leaders. Earlier, NATO diplomats had suggested that Zelenskyy could address the Foreign Ministers as president.

The summit will be much shorter than the editions of recent years. The dinner on Tuesday evening at Huis ten Bosch could be the first occasion where, for example, American president Donald Trump will appear, so he can leave again early Wednesday afternoon after the official meeting.

On Tuesday, there will be a large meeting of the defense industry with politicians and policymakers. The organizers hope to welcome many leaders and Ministers there as well. NATO chief Mark Rutte and President Ursula von der Leyen of the European Commission will attend at least.