Washington, July 28, 2026
President Donald Trump quietly steered Open‑Door talks with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu during a week of heightened confrontations across Europe and the Middle East.
Following a funeral for Senator Lindsey Graham—a stalwart pro‑Israel and pro‑Ukraine advocate—the two leaders each met the former president separately in the Oval Office. On his social media platform Truth Social, Trump said the meetings had gone “very well” and were “positive and productive.”
In the Zelensky‑Trump session, the Ukrainian head of state pressed Trump to honor a pledge made at the NATO summit earlier this month: to grant Ukraine a licence for domestic production of Patriot air‑defence missiles. Zelensky said he had spoken with American manufacturing officials, hoping for a co‑production arrangement. While no formal U.S. confirmation of aid had been released, Zelensky declared that Trump had agreed to provide the licences—a move that could see up to 25 Patriot launcher batteries shipped to Ukraine, or manufactured in the U.S. to keep them out of Russian eyes.
Netanyahu’s visit was less predictable. His priority was the growing tension over Iran’s nuclear program, especially after recent U.S. attempts to curtail Iranian drone and missile strikes that have targeted Israeli coastal towns. Netanyahu described the conversation as “an understanding of mutual goals” and praised the United States for its commitment to preventing Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons. A photo of the two leaders in the Oval Office, posted to Netanyahu’s X account, showed a brief but tense exchange that was later described by the former president as a “very good meeting.”
