Washington — President Trump met with both Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu separately at the White House Tuesday amid the war with Iran and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Neither meeting was open to reporters. Zelenskyy and Netanyahu are attending the funeral of Sen. Lindsey Graham, a staunch supporter of both Ukraine and Israel. Graham had just returned from a trip to Ukraine before his sudden death at 71. His last public words were in Kyiv.
Zelenskyy said his meeting with Mr. Trump was “good” and that they discussed the licenses for the production of Patriot missile interceptors, critical in Ukraine’s efforts to combat Moscow. Mr. Trump and Zelenskyy most recently met earlier this month on the sidelines of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization in Turkey, where Mr. Trump announced the U.S. would allow 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.”
Immediately following the Zelenskyy meeting, Mr. Trump met with Netanyahu behind closed doors. Neither the White House nor the Israelis have yet released a readout of that meeting. It was their first known face-to-face meeting since the U.S. and Israel launched the war with Iran.
Mr. Trump, who has typically been one of Netanyahu’s staunchest supporters, has put distance between himself and the Israeli prime minister of late. Although he’s called Netanyahu a good wartime president, Mr. Trump hasn’t said whether Netanyahu should continue as prime minister in the future. Netanyahu, Mr. Trump has said, needs to apply a “softer touch” and “be more responsible with respect to Lebanon.”
In an interview with Fox News Tuesday morning, Mr. Trump pushed back when he was asked about reports that Netanyahu planned to discuss information related to Pickaxe Mountain in Iran, an underground nuclear site. Mr. Trump said he doesn’t need someone else to tell him what’s happening there.
“I don’t need Bibi to tell me that,” Mr. Trump responded, adding that Netanyahu is “telling me that because he wants me to stay involved.”
