US President Donald Trump made several omissions at the NATO summit in Ankara that did not go unnoticed. In particular, the American President confused Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy with russian dictator vladimir putin, and also spoke about the "Islamic Republic of Japan".
This is reported by ClashReport and Kyodo News.
In response, the hall fell silent for a short while, followed by a rumble and uncertain laughter. One of the journalists corrected Trump by saying Zelenskyy's name. After that, Trump smiled and tried to joke:
"Do you have a question for President putin, not Zelenskyy? What would you like to ask him? Because I can ask him that question."
Trump: (Pointing to Zelensky)
— Clash Report (@clashreport) July 8, 2026
Do you have a question for President Putin? pic.twitter.com/91EQv8kw2h
In addition, according to Kyodo News, Trump said in Ankara that the "Islamic Republic of Japan" had fired missiles at a US aircraft carrier, apparently confusing long-time ally Japan with Iran.
This confusion in the words of the US President also occurred during a meeting with the President of Ukraine on the sidelines of the NATO summit.
"The Islamic Republic of Japan fired 111 missiles at us," Trump said.
He added that the missiles were fired at the aircraft carrier Abraham Lincoln within an hour and that they were intercepted. While Japan and the United States are long-standing security allies.
As Ukrainian News Agency earlier reported, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy discussed strengthening Ukraine's air defense with US President Donald Trump.
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