June 24: Busy Day for Zelensky Ahead of NATO Summit
President Zelensky was welcomed on Tuesday morning by the Dutch Prime Minister “Dick” Schoof on arrival at The Hague. During the meeting Schoof announced the Netherlands will produce drones for Ukraine. Later Zelensky had an audience with the Dutch King Willem-Alexander where Zelensky thanked the King and Queen for the military and humanitarian support to the Netherlands has given Ukraine and for the refuge it has provided to Ukrainian refugees.
In the afternoon Zelensky delivered a speech to the Dutch House of Representatives, condemning Russian aggression and once again expressing gratitude to the Netherlands as one of the nations providing most support to Ukraine. He said European cooperation was vital and called on them for more investment in defense: “Russia is stronger than any one of us alone, but it is weaker than all of us put together”.
The radical-right Forum for Democracy (FvD) party boycotted the event, deeming it inappropriate for a foreign leader to give a speech in the main chamber of the Dutch parliament. This party is relatively small, holding 3 of the total 150 seats.
In the evening Zelensky attended the NATO Summit Dinner, where all NATO leaders, including US President Donald Trump were present, hosted by King Willem Alexander and Queen Maxima in the Huis ten Bosch Palace. At the dinner, both the King and the NATO Secretary General, Mark Rutte stated the critical importance of supporting Ukraine and stressed an urgent need for increased military spending among member states – a central objective of the summit.
At the same time as the state dinner, NATO foreign ministers attended a NATO-Ukraine Council working dinner.
Source: Michiel Hilgeman