Dutch king inviting all leaders at NATO Summit to dinner at Royal Palace in June

King Willem-Alexander is inviting all the NATO leaders that are attending the NATO Summit at the end of June in The Hague to a dinner at his residential palace, the Huis ten Bosch, he said during an interview on Wednesday. "The NATO Summit is extremely important for NATO and the Netherlands, and we assume that the whole world will watch very critically what happens there," the king said while participating in a State visit in Cyprus.

As the official head of state, the Dutch king was not willing to share his thoughts about the escalating tension and heated conversation between U.S. President Donald Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy that took place last week in the White House. “What I thought myself is not relevant at this moment,” he told the media in Cyprus.

The king added that the Netherlands is taking a leadership role when it comes to this. “We mainly see that new leadership is needed, along with a stronger European Union,” the king said. “That is what we need. I see that people are worried.”

Willem-Alexander also did not want to say whether he has ever ended up in a similar situation behind the scenes. “But I am not in the same position as President Trump or President Zelenskyy. I will not end up in such a situation.” Willem-Alexander also stressed that he was not willing to predict the direction of the political debate planned for Wednesday in the Tweede Kamer, the lower house of Dutch Parliament.

"The Security Summit in The Hague in 2014 gave me the opportunity to offer dinner to all the government leaders at Huis ten Bosch. I will do the same during the NATO Summit in The Hague."

Willem-Alexander emphasized that during the NATO summit, he is "available to the Prime Minister, but also for the Secretary General of NATO for receptions. As the Netherlands, we must clearly demonstrate that we have confidence in the leadership of the EU and the future transatlantic cooperation. That has given us 80 years of peace and security. And we hope to maintain that relationship for a very long time to come."

The king said he is looking forward to “receiving all the state leaders and government that attended the NATO Summit leaders at Huis ten Bosch for a dinner. We are going to have a nice evening together.”