Washington — President Trump held separate White House meetings Tuesday with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, as the administration confronts two major foreign policy crises: the war with Iran and Russia’s ongoing invasion of Ukraine.
Reporters were not allowed into either meeting. Zelenskyy and Netanyahu were both in Washington to attend the funeral of Sen. Lindsey Graham, a firm ally of Ukraine and Israel. Graham had recently returned from a visit to Ukraine before his sudden death at 71, and his final public remarks were delivered in Kyiv.
Zelenskyy described his conversation with Mr. Trump as “good,” saying the two leaders focused in part on licensing arrangements for producing Patriot missile interceptors, a key component of Ukraine’s defense against Russian attacks. The meeting followed their most recent encounter earlier this month on the sidelines of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization gathering in Turkey, where Mr. Trump said the United States would permit Ukraine to build its own Patriot missiles.
“A good meeting with President Trump at the Oval Office,” Zelenskyy wrote on X. “Thank you for everything we do together to protect the lives of Ukrainians and advance peace. First and foremost, I offered President Trump our condolences on the passing of Lindsey Graham. He was a true friend of Ukraine.
“The president and I discussed licenses for Patriot interceptor production and several other ideas that could help. We also spoke about diplomacy – it’s important that the diplomatic process be reinvigorated. Our teams will arrange the details of their further communication. I am grateful to the United States for its firm support.”
Soon after the meeting with Zelenskyy ended, Mr. Trump sat down with Netanyahu in a closed-door session. The White House and Israeli officials have not released a readout of the discussion. It marked their first known in-person meeting since the U.S. and Israel began the war with Iran.
Mr. Trump has long been viewed as one of Netanyahu’s most reliable backers, but in recent weeks he has shown signs of creating some distance from the Israeli leader. While he has described Netanyahu as a strong wartime president, Mr. Trump has not said whether he believes Netanyahu should remain prime minister going forward. He has also said Netanyahu should use a “softer touch” and “be more responsible with respect to Lebanon.”
During an interview Tuesday morning on Fox News, Mr. Trump dismissed a question about reports that Netanyahu intended to raise intelligence related to Pickaxe Mountain in Iran, an underground nuclear facility. Mr. Trump said he did not need Netanyahu to brief him on the situation there.
“I don’t need Bibi to tell me that,” Mr. Trump said, adding that Netanyahu is “telling me that because he wants me to stay involved.”
