NATO chief invites Zelenskyy to Alliance leaders' summit in Ankara

NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte has said he has invited Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to join the Alliance leaders' summit in the city of Ankara, Türkiye, in July.

Responding to journalists' questions, Rutte confirmed that he had invited Zelenskyy to the NATO leaders' meeting on 7-8 July.

"I've invited him [Zelenskyy] already, yes, I did. He will be there, like in The Hague [at last year's summit of NATO leaders – ed.]," Rutte said at a press conference in the city of Helsingborg, Sweden.

Before that, Rutte met US Secretary of State Marco Rubio. They discussed the Alliance leaders' summit in Türkiye in July, including the Alliance's commitments to rapidly increase defence production.

Rubio is taking part in the NATO ministerial meeting in Sweden on 22 May. Before it began, Rubio said the summit in Ankara in July will discuss US President Donald Trump's "disappointment" with the Alliance.

Politico reported earlier that Mark Rutte has put forward a new initiative aimed at preserving the United States' active role in NATO.