US President Donald Trump will participate in a working session of G7 leaders along with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in France. The meeting will take place at the G7 summit in Évian-les-Bains from June 15-17, 2026, and the Ukrainian issue is expected to be one of the central topics at the first working session.
For Israel, this news is important not only as another diplomatic episode of the war in Ukraine. At one summit, two lines of global security will be discussed: support for Ukraine against Russian aggression and the situation in the Middle East, including tensions around the Strait of Hormuz. This is a rare case where the European war and Middle Eastern security are not parallel topics but parts of a single conversation about power, alliances, and the cost of concessions to aggressors.
Why the meeting between Trump and Zelensky is important right now
According to Euractiv, citing a representative of the American administration, Trump will participate in a working session with G7 leaders and Zelensky. Reuters also reports that the summit will take place in Évian, France, where the US, Japan, France, Germany, Italy, Canada, the UK, and EU representatives will discuss key crises in world politics.
The main question is not only whether Trump and Zelensky will be in the same room. More importantly, what position the G7 can formulate on Ukraine: will it be just a diplomatic phrase of support, or a signal that the West is not ready to change Europe’s borders under the pressure of the Russian army.
European leaders, according to publications before the summit, want to achieve a unified message in support of Ukraine. This is especially important against the backdrop of the US under the Trump administration halting bilateral military donations to Ukraine, with the main burden of military and financial assistance falling on Europe.
A separate meeting has not yet been confirmed
In the Ukrainian and international context, it will be closely monitored whether a separate conversation between Trump and Zelensky will take place on the sidelines of the summit. Initial reports allowed for such a possibility, but recent publications clarify: it is definitely about a joint working session, and a formal bilateral meeting between Zelensky and Trump is not yet on the confirmed list.
This is not a minor protocol detail. For Kyiv, a personal conversation with the US president is important as a channel of direct influence on the American position, especially if Washington will promote a negotiation logic with Moscow. For Europe, it is important that any negotiations do not turn into a conversation about Ukraine’s fate without Ukraine and without Europeans.
Europe wants to talk about negotiations, but not about capitulation
The French Élysée Palace, according to Euractiv, outlined one of the key questions of the summit as follows: under what conditions can G7 partners facilitate negotiations between Ukraine and Russia. Special attention should be paid to the parameters of such a dialogue, including the territorial issue.
This is where the main risk appears. The Kremlin has been trying for years to sell the world the idea of ‘peace’ as the consolidation of captured territories. Ukraine, on the contrary, insists that negotiations cannot mean the legalization of Russian aggression. If the G7 wants to maintain its authority, it will have to talk not only about a ceasefire but also about principles: borders cannot be changed with missiles, occupation should not become the norm, and sanctions against Russia cannot be lifted when pressure still needs to be increased.
For the Israeli audience, this sounds familiar. Israel also lives in a reality where terrorist and hostile regimes test the boundaries of what is permissible: with missiles, drones, proxy groups, diplomatic pressure, and information campaigns. Therefore, the Ukrainian issue at the G7 is not a ‘distant European war,’ but part of a broader discussion about whether the aggressor will pay a price or receive a reward for violence.
In this sense, NAnews — Israel News | Nikk.Agency views the summit in Évian as a point where the interests of Ukraine, Europe, the US, and Israel intersect much more strongly than it seems at first glance. If the West weakens its position on Ukraine, it will be noticed not only in Moscow but also in Tehran, Beirut, Gaza, and Sana’a.
Sanctions against Russia remain a test of G7’s seriousness
European leaders, according to preliminary reports, intend to emphasize that now is not the time to lift sanctions on Russia. This is an important signal because sanctions policy remains one of the few tools of long-term pressure that does not require immediate military risk but affects the aggressor’s ability to continue the war.
For Ukraine, sanctions are not a symbol. It is a matter of missile production, access to technology, bypass schemes, banking operations, logistics, and the cost of war for the Russian economy. For Israel, this topic is also not abstract: the same mechanisms for circumventing restrictions are often used by authoritarian regimes and their partners, including players associated with the Iranian axis.
Middle East on the agenda: Hormuz, Arab leaders, and American signal
Ukraine will be important, but not the only topic. The summit will also discuss the situation in the Middle East and security in the Strait of Hormuz. According to Euractiv, leaders of Egypt, Qatar, and the UAE will participate in a working lunch with G7 leaders dedicated to regional security.
For Israel, this is one of the most sensitive blocks of the summit. The Strait of Hormuz is linked to global energy, Iranian influence, maritime security, and the ability of international coalitions to contain Tehran. If the G7 talks about the Middle East separately from Ukraine, the picture will be incomplete. The Iranian axis and Russian aggression exist in different geographies but in one logic: pressure on democratic states, use of proxies, betting on Western fatigue, and testing the boundaries of international reaction.
After the summit, Trump is reportedly set to meet with French President Emmanuel Macron for dinner at the Palace of Versailles on June 17. The Élysée Palace links this gesture to the 250th anniversary of US independence and the history of Franco-American relations, as it was in France that the 1783 treaty was signed, securing the independence of the United States.
What will be the main outcome
The main outcome of Évian will be understood not by photos of Trump and Zelensky, but by the formulations. If the G7 confirms support for Ukraine, the maintenance of sanctions pressure on Russia, and the inadmissibility of negotiations at the expense of Ukrainian territory, it will be a strong signal. If the text of the results is too soft, Moscow will perceive it as a window of opportunity.
For Israel, this language of strength and clarity is important. In a region where threats quickly transition from diplomatic statements to missiles and drone attacks, weak formulations are read by opponents as an invitation to the next step. Therefore, the G7 summit in Évian is not only about Ukraine, Trump, and Zelensky. It is a test of whether the democratic bloc can speak with one voice when both Europe and the Middle East are burning simultaneously.