Potential meeting with Putin could take place in a neutral European country – Zelensky

Potential meeting with Putin could take place in a neutral European country – Zelensky

Ukrinform
A potential meeting with Russian leader Vladimir Putin, as well as U.S. President Donald Trump, could be held in one of Europe’s neutral countries—Switzerland, Austria, or Turkey.

President Volodymyr Zelensky made this statement during a conversation with journalists yesterday, according to an Ukrinform correspondent.

“We believe it’s fair—and this has been emphasized by European leaders—that the meeting (between the leaders of Ukraine, the U.S., and Russia – ed.) should take place in neutral Europe. Because the war is in Ukraine and on the European continent. I said we agree. Switzerland, Austria—we agree. Turkey? For us, Turkey is a NATO country and part of Europe. And we’re not opposed,” Zelensky noted.

At the same time, he stressed that he is against holding negotiations in the Russian capital.

“There can be no meeting in Moscow,” the President emphasized.

Read also: President: We want to gain understanding of security guarantees architecture within 7–10 days

According to him, Budapest is also a “difficult” choice for the meeting venue.

“As for Budapest as a platform, I think it’s complicated at the moment. It’s complicated because there’s unity among all European countries in supporting Ukraine during this war. And to be honest, Budapest has not supported us. I’m not saying Orbán’s policy was anti-Ukrainian, but it was against supporting Ukraine,” Zelensky said.

As reported by Ukrinform, on August 18, the President of Ukraine, together with several European leaders, met in Washington with U.S. President Donald Trump to discuss a peaceful resolution to Russia’s war against Ukraine. One of the outcomes of that meeting was political support from participants for organizing a summit between the leaders of Ukraine, the U.S., and Russia.

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