Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has listed Türkiye, Austria, and Switzerland as possible venues for a direct meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin. His remarks were published by local media on Thursday.
“We believe it is fair, and the Europeans emphasized this, that the meeting should be held in neutral Europe. Because there is a war in Ukraine and on the European continent. I said that we agree. Switzerland, Austria – we agree,” Zelenskyy told journalists on Wednesday, according to Interfax-Ukraine.
He also mentioned Türkiye as a potential host, noting that it is a NATO member and “part of Europe.” Türkiye has previously facilitated diplomatic talks between Kyiv and Moscow, including three rounds of direct negotiations in Istanbul in May, June, and July 2025. Those sessions resulted in prisoner exchanges and draft memoranda outlining positions for a possible agreement.
Zelenskyy ruled out Moscow as a venue and said Budapest would be difficult given Hungary’s stance on the conflict. He added that agreeing to a meeting “without any special conditions” was already a proactive step by Kyiv.
The Ukrainian president said preparations for a meeting with Putin would be coordinated by a U.S. team including Vice President JD Vance, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, and President Donald Trump’s special envoy Steve Witkoff. He noted that the group was agreed upon during Trump’s meeting with him and European leaders at the White House on Monday.
His comments come amid renewed U.S. efforts to broker an end to the war, now in its fourth year. Last week, Trump met Putin in Alaska, followed by a White House meeting on Monday with Zelenskyy and European leaders. On Tuesday, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt confirmed that the U.S. is working with both Kyiv and Moscow to organize a Putin-Zelenskyy summit.
