The Three Countries Where Zelensky Wants to Meet Putin

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has proposed Turkey, Austria, and Switzerland as possible venues for a face-to-face meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin. He revealed this in an interview published by Ukrainian media on Thursday.

Zelensky said, “We believe the meeting will be productive, and European leaders have also emphasized that it should take place in a neutral country in Europe.”

He added, “Turkey could also be a potential venue since it is a NATO member and part of Europe.”

Since the beginning of the Russia-Ukraine war, Ankara has played an important diplomatic role. On May 16, June 2, and July 23 in Istanbul, both sides held three rounds of direct peace talks. These discussions included major prisoner exchanges and the exchange of draft proposals for a future peace agreement.

Zelensky rejected Moscow as a possible venue and commented that organizing a meeting in Budapest, Hungary’s capital, would be “not easy under current circumstances.”

Regarding preparations for the meeting with Putin, Zelensky noted that U.S. Vice President JD Vance, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, and President Donald Trump’s special envoy Steve Witkoff will be part of the coordinating group. The coordination framework was agreed upon when Trump met European leaders at the White House.

President Trump has recently intensified diplomatic efforts to find a peaceful solution to the Russia-Ukraine war, now in its third and a half year. As part of these initiatives, a Trump–Putin meeting took place last week in Alaska, followed by a White House meeting on Monday between Trump, Zelensky, and European leaders.

On Tuesday, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt also confirmed that preparations are underway for a Putin–Zelensky meeting involving the United States, Russia, and Ukraine.

Source: Anadolu Agency