Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy believes that his potential bilateral meeting with Russian leader Vladimir Putin should take place in neutral Europe, and he is also not opposed to Türkiye.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy believes that his potential bilateral meeting with Russian leader Vladimir Putin should take place in neutral Europe, and he is also not opposed to Türkiye.

Source: Interfax-Ukraine, citing Zelenskyy’s statement during a conversation with journalists on 20 August

Quote from Zelenskyy: “The place of the meeting. We believe that it is fair, and the Europeans have also emphasised this, that the meeting should be in neutral Europe. Because the war is in Ukraine and on the European continent. I said that we agree. Switzerland, Austria – we agree.”

Details: He also added that Ukraine is not against holding the meeting in Türkiye, since it is a NATO country and “part of Europe”. Zelenskyy noted that “a meeting without any special conditions is also a proactive step by the Ukrainian side.”

Meanwhile, Zelenskyy stressed that a meeting in Moscow is out of the question.

Speaking about Budapest as a possible venue, the president noted that “for now, this is not easy,” since Hungary opposes supporting Ukraine during the war.

“It is not easy, because all European countries are united in supporting Ukraine during this war. And frankly speaking, Budapest has not supported us. I am not saying that Orbán’s policy has been against Ukraine, but it has been against supporting Ukraine,” said Zelenskyy.

Background:

After meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and European leaders in Washington on 18 August, US President Donald Trump said that he hopes to organise US-Ukraine-Russia talks as soon as possible.Zelenskyy has confirmed that preparations are underway, first for a meeting between him and Russian leader Vladimir Putin, and later for a trilateral meeting with US President Donald Trump.German Chancellor Friedrich Merz has said that Zelenskyy and Putin will meet within the next two weeks.Reuters has reported that the US administration thinks the meeting between Zelenskyy and Putin could take place in Hungary.Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov stated that Russia has not rejected any meeting formats to settle its war against Ukraine, neither bilateral nor trilateral.

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