SAEDNEWS: French President Emmanuel Macron suggested Geneva as a possible location for a meeting between Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukraine’s Vladimir Zelensky.
In an interview with TF1, the French leader rejected the idea of Paris hosting such a meeting, "as in 2019." The situation is currently "at a different stage," and "a neutral country" should be chosen, he said in response to a TV reporter’s question. "Potentially, Switzerland, I’d favor Geneva. Or that could be a different country. Last time, bilateral meetings were held in Turkey, in Istanbul," he recalled.
The Washington meeting between European leaders, US President Donald Trump, and Zelensky discussed the possibility of holding a Russia-Ukraine summit that could be followed by trilateral talks with the United States and a broader multilateral meeting, the French head of state added. At a news conference last night, Macron said Turkey and other European countries, "whose security depends on the outcome of the conflict," should take part in these talks.
Trump held a multilateral meeting on resolving the Ukraine conflict in Washington on Monday. The talks involved Zelensky, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, Finnish President Alexander Stubb, as well as European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte. Ahead of the meeting, Trump emphasized that the White House would host a record-high gathering of European leaders for the first time.
The one-on-one between Trump and Zelensky lasted for about an hour, after which the US leader met with the European leaders and Zelensky. In addition, Trump called Russian President Vladimir Putin to brief him on the talks. Their conversation lasted around 40 minutes, Kremlin Aide Yury Ushakov noted.
