ISTANBUL

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy named Türkiye, Austria, and Switzerland as possible venues for a face-to-face meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin in remarks published by local media 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 said during a conversation with journalists held Wednesday, according to the Interfax-Ukraine news agency.

Zelenskyy also spoke about Türkiye as a potential venue for the talks, stating that it is a NATO country and "part of Europe."

Türkiye has hosted key diplomatic encounters between Moscow and Kyiv since the early weeks of the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war, including three rounds of direct peace talks between the two countries on May 16, June 2, and July 23 in Istanbul.

The three rounds of renewed peace talks in the Turkish metropolis produced major prisoner swaps and an exchange of draft memoranda outlining both sides’ positions for a future peace deal.

He went on to say that a meeting “without any special conditions is also proactive actions by the Ukrainian side,” also rejecting Moscow as a possible venue and describing the prospect of Budapest as “not easy today” due to Hungary's position on the war.

Speaking about preparations for his meeting with Putin, Zelenskyy said that Washington's coordination group, which will prepare the talks, will consist of US Vice President JD Vance, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, and President Donald Trump's special envoy Steve Witkoff.
He noted that they agreed to the coordination group when Trump hosted him and multiple European leaders in the White House on Monday.

Zelenskyy's remarks came amid intense diplomatic efforts by Trump to mediate a settlement for the nearly 3 1/2-year long Russia-Ukraine war.

These efforts included a key summit between Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin in Alaska last week, and the subsequent meeting in the Oval Office on Monday between Trump, Zelenskyy, and European leaders.

On Tuesday, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt confirmed the US is working with Russia and Ukraine to arrange a Putin-Zelenskyy meeting.