“Not at the same table”: Zelensky was isolated at the NATO summit — he arrived dressed in black

A video has surfaced online showing the leaders of NATO member states ahead of the Alliance summit. Among them is Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, who arrived early in the Netherlands.

In the footage, it is noticeable that Zelensky’s attire stands out sharply from the suits worn by the other heads of state who gathered in The Hague. He is seen standing next to French President Emmanuel Macron and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen.

It is worth noting that during the NATO summit, the President of Ukraine had an audience with King Willem-Alexander of the Netherlands. The king received Zelensky at the Huis ten Bosch palace.

In the video, Zelensky can be seen standing in the second row, while former U.S. President Donald Trump appears in the center of the group, positioned between King Willem-Alexander and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.

Meanwhile, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán stated that the leaders of Hungary, Slovakia, Turkey, and the United States did not wish to see Zelensky at the NATO summit in The Hague, which is why he was not invited to the working meetings.

“In diplomacy, what matters is not where you are, but where you aren’t. The Americans, the Turks, the Slovaks, and we made it clear that we do not want to sit at the same table with Mr. Zelensky when it comes to NATO,” said Orbán.

He called Zelensky’s absence from the working sessions a sign that “the previous chapter is over.”

Orbán also said that Hungary’s national interest is to not be part of any alliance with Ukraine — neither in NATO nor in the European Union.

It is worth recalling that Trump has allowed for a possible meeting with Zelensky at the NATO summit and has expressed hope for a deal with Russia.

As previously reported, Trump left the recent G7 summit in Canada early without meeting with Zelensky. Western media noted that the canceled meeting between Trump and Zelensky at the G7 summit was a painful signal for Kyiv.