Putin and Zelenskyy agree to meet directly in a 'neutral country' in the coming weeks

LAST UPDATE | 20 hrs ago

RUSSIAN PRESIDENT VLADIMIR Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy have both said they are prepared to meet each other amid an international push to bring an end to Russia’s war on Ukraine.

Putin told US counterpart Donald Trump on a phone call late yesterday that he is willing to meet Zelenskyy, while Zelensky said he was ready for what will be the first first face-to-face meeting between the two men since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine nearly three and a half years ago.

The Trump-Putin phone call was made during a break in White House talks held yesterday between Trump and European leaders and comes just days after Trump and Putin met in person in Alaska on Friday.

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz confirmed that Putin agreed in a telephone call with Trump to meet Zelenskyy within two weeks.

“The American president spoke with the Russian president and agreed that there would be a meeting between the Russian president and the Ukrainian president within the next two weeks,” Merz told reporters after White House talks.

Zelenskyy, who was at the White House, said he “confirmed, and all European leaders supported me, that we are ready for a bilateral meeting with Putin”.

French President Emmanuel Macron suggested Geneva could play host to a peace summit between the two sides.

Speaking after the White House talks, Macron said the Zelenskyy-Putin meeting would be held in Europe and hosted by a “neutral country”.

“Maybe Switzerland – I’m pushing for Geneva – or another country,” Macron said in an interview aired today on French news channel LCI.

“The last time there were bilateral talks, they were held in Istanbul,” he said, referring to the three rounds of lower-level negotiations between Russia and Ukraine held in Turkey between May and July.

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Macron and UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer are currently co-hosting a follow-up meeting with around 30 Ukrainian allies to discuss next steps and coordinate commitments.

Trump later wrote on his Truth Social platform that “everyone is very happy about the possibility of PEACE for Russia/Ukraine,” adding that after the Zelensky-Putin summit he planned to host a three-way meeting with both leaders.

He said security guarantees for Ukraine had been discussed, with Putin reportedly agreeing in principle.

A Financial Times report suggested Kyiv could buy up to $100 billion in US weapons, financed by Europe, in exchange for such guarantees

Macron said France and the UK would hold a meeting today  with other Ukrainian allies to “keep them up to date on what was decided” in D.C. on providing security guarantees for Ukraine, a key talking point in the meetings with Trump.

“Right after that, we’ll start concrete work with the Americans. So as of tomorrow (Tuesday), our diplomatic advisers, ministers, chiefs of staff begin work on seeing who’s ready to do what,” he said.

Addressing whether Zelensky would be forced to give up territory to Russia, Macron said it was “up to Ukraine”.

“Ukraine will make the concessions it deems just and right,” he said, but added: “Let’s be very careful when we talk about legal recognition.”

“If countries… can say, ‘we can take territory by force’, that opens a Pandora’s box.”

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said any peace deal on Ukraine must ensure Russia’s security.

“Without respect for Russia’s security interests, without full respect for the rights of Russians and Russian-speaking people who live in Ukraine, there can be no talk of any long-term agreements,” Lavrov told state TV channel Rossiya 24.

Additional reporting by AFP

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