New Delhi, July 5 -- Before the NATO summit opens in Ankara on Monday, Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin spoke by phone on Saturday, and the Kremlin moved quickly to place Ukraine at the center of what was discussed.

the Kremlin framed the Ukraine conversation not as a bilateral negotiating session but as preparation for a meeting where Russia will have no seat at the table.

The Ankara summit convenes Monday. Alliance members are expected to address defense spending, Ukraine's security relationship with NATO, and the alliance's collective posture toward Russia. Trump's pre-summit call with Putin introduces a layer of ambiguity about how Washington will position itself on all three. Some alliance partners, particularly those on NATO's east...