WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump plans to meet with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Syrian President Ahmad al-Sharaa on Wednesday while attending the NATO summit in Turkey, the White House said. Those discussions will come as Kyiv tries to refocus Trump’s attention on the conflict with Moscow and as Trump has publicly mused about Syria's role in the Middle East.
White House spokesperson Anna Kelly confirmed the meetings in a call with reporters while previewing the upcoming summit in Ankara, where Trump also plans to meet with Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Tuesday. Before returning to the United States on Wednesday, Trump is scheduled to have a news conference, Kelly said.
Trump's meeting with Zelenskyy comes as Russia’s war in Ukraine is now in its fifth year. Both Zelenskyy and Russian President Vladimir Putin held phone calls with Trump on Saturday, congratulating him on the July Fourth commemoration of the 250th anniversary of American independence.
Zelenskyy said in a statement on X after his call that he and Trump spoke about the situation on the front lines of the war, where analysts say Russian advances have sputtered. Ukraine, has stepped up its attacks on Moscow and demonstrated its ability to strike deeper into Russia.
The Ukrainian leader said there is “a real prospect of ending this war,” and that conversation would continue at the NATO summit in Ankara.
Kremlin foreign affairs adviser Yuri Ushakov said that in Putin’s call with Trump, the Republican president reaffirmed his “readiness to help achieve a quick cessation of hostilities and search for peaceful solutions to settle the crisis” in Ukraine.
A senior U.S. official who spoke to reporters on condition of anonymity on Sunday to describe the administration’s approach said Trump feels a sense of urgency to bring the war to an end and will speak to Zelenskyy about how to do that. Trump is expected to follow up with Putin after his meeting with Zelenskyy in Ankara, the official said.
U.S. officials did not provide any details about the goals for Trump's meeting with al-Sharaa.
As Trump has grown frustrated with Israel’s war with Hezbollah in Lebanon, which has complicated negotiations in the Iran war, the U.S. leader has repeatedly stunned many in the region by suggesting that Syria instead fight Hezbollah.
Al-Sharaa, who led an Islamic insurgent group and whose rebel forces ousted Bashar Assad as Syria's president, has said he has no interest in doing so. He has suggested Trump's comments were misconstrued, even as Trump has repeated them.
President Donald Trump speaks at Salute to America, an Independence Day event honoring the nation's 250th anniversary, Saturday, July 4, 2026, on the National Mall in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)
A man walks past a banner ahead of the NATO Summit in Ankara, Turkey, Sunday, July 5, 2026. (AP Photo/Riza Ozel)
SEATTLE (AP) — Folarin Balogun’s one-game ban was surprisingly suspended by FIFA, clearing the U.S. forward to play in the team’s World Cup round of 16 match against Belgium, a decision that was praised by President Donald Trump.
Balogun, who leads the Americans with three goals, received a red card for stepping awkwardly on a foot of Tarik Muharemović of Bosnia and Herzegovina in a 2-0 round of 32 win on Wednesday.
A red card calls for an automatic one-game suspension but players learned of Balogun's availability when social media posts started popping up during the 10-minute bus ride Sunday from their hotel to training at the University of Washington.
“I think a lot of us thought it was AI at first,'” defender Chris Richards said. “We weren’t sure if it was true or not.”
U.S. President Donald Trump praised FIFA’s decision. FIFA President Gianni Infantino has repeatedly made efforts to grow close to Trump, even awarding him a FIFA Peace Prize at the World Cup draw.
“Thank you to FIFA for doing what was right, and reversing a great injustice!” Trump said in a social media post.
Balogun’s red card and suspension for the round of 16 match had been one of the most controversial and consequential decisions of the World Cup.
“If you look at the foul, it was just zero intent at all,” U.S. star Christian Pulisic said. “I felt like there was much worse ones that went on this tournament.”
The U.S. Soccer Federation learned of the decision in a message sent by FIFA in its portal at 10:31 a.m. EDT.
“The implementation of the match suspension is suspended for a probationary period of one year,” FIFA announced. “If Folarin Balogun commits another infringement of a similar nature and gravity during the probationary period, the suspension shall be revoked and the sanction enforced without prejudice to any additional sanction imposed for the new infringement.”
Balogun's three goals included one to give the U.S. the lead against Bosnia. He has matched Landon Donovan in 2010 for the second-most goals by an American in a World Cup, behind only Bert Patenaude’s four in the initial tournament in 1930.
A 25-year-old who plays for Monaco, Balogun scored 13 Ligue 1 goals last season. He has 12 goals in 30 international appearances. He was born in Brooklyn to Nigerian parents who were living in London and in 2023 opted to change his national team affiliation from England, which he had represented at the under-21 level.
“He strikes fear into a lot of defenders,” Richards said.
The host U.S. is seeking to reach the quarterfinals for the first time since 2002. The Americans lost in the round of 16 to Ghana in 2010, Belgium in 2014 and the Netherlands in 2022. They failed to advance from the group stage in 2006 and didn’t qualify for the 2018 tournament.
The USSF said it will not make Balogun available for comment Sunday, but Balogun posted on social media a picture of himself in front of U.S. fans and overlaid with music of Michael Jackson's pop single “Bad.”
On Friday, Balogun said he thought a yellow card instead of red “would have been fair."
FIFA said its decision relied on Article 27 of disciplinary committee rules.
"The judicial body may decide to fully or partially suspend the implementation of a disciplinary measure. By suspending the implementation of the sanction, the judicial body subjects the person sanctioned to a probationary period of one to four years," the rule states.
FIFA in November deferred the final two games of a three-match ban for Portugal's Cristiano Ronaldo for a red card against Ireland in a World Cup qualifier, allowing him to play at the start of the World Cup.
Argentine defender Nicolás Otamendi and Ecuadoran midfielder Moisés Caicedo in April had one-game bans deferred for red cards in qualifiers, also allowing them to be available for World Cup openers.
Brazil’s Garrincha was ejected from a 1962 semifinal but allowed to play in the final against Chile after political pressure.
AP Soccer Writer James Robson and AP Sports Writer Jim Vertuno contributed to this report.
See more of AP’s World Cup coverage here
United States' Folarin Balogun (20) fouls Bosnia's Tarik Muharemovic (4), resulting in a red card go Balogun, during the World Cup round of 32 soccer match between the United States and Bosnia in Santa Clara, Calif., near San Francisco, Wednesday, July 1, 2026. (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu)
United States' Folarin Balogun (20) walks off the field after receiving a red card during the World Cup round of 32 soccer match between the United States and Bosnia in Santa Clara, Calif., near San Francisco, Wednesday, July 1, 2026. (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu)
