President Macron Proposes Switzerland As The Location Of Presidential Negotiations Putin And Zelensky

French President Emmanuel Macron proposed Geneva as a potential location for a meeting between Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.

In an interview with TF1, the French leader rejected the idea of Paris hosting such a gathering, "as in 2019."

The current situation "is at a different stage," and "neutral countries" must be selected, President Macron said in response to a television reporter's question.

"Perhaps Switzerland, I prefer Geneva. Or it could also be another country. The last time a bilateral meeting was held was held in Turkey, in Istanbul," he said, quoted by TASS.

President Putin and President Trump held their first meeting to discuss the crisis between Crimea and Donbas which took place in Paris in December 2019, in which French President Emmanuel Macron, Russian President Vladimir Putin, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and German Chancellor (at that time) Angela Merkel were present, quoted by Sky News.

If President Putin and President Zelensky's live meeting this year was held, it would be the first since the meeting in Paris.

As previously reported, United States President Donald Trump held a meeting with President Zelensky and a number of European ally leaders, the President of the European Union Commission and the Secretary-General of NATO at the White House, Washington DC on Monday.

In addition to ensuring Ukraine's security guarantees, the meeting also discussed the possibility of holding a Russia-Ukraine summit that could be followed up with trilateral negotiations with the United States and a wider multilateral meeting.

In a press conference Monday evening President Macron said Turkey and other European countries, "whose safety depends on the outcome of the conflict," must participate in these negotiations.

Yesterday's meeting began with the meeting of President Zelensky and President Trump for an hour, before the two held a meeting with European leaders, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, Finnish President Alexander Stubb, French President Emmanuel Macron, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz and NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte.

On the sidelines of the meeting, President Trump called Russian President Vladimir Putin to provide a brief explanation of the negotiations. Their conversation lasted about 40 minutes, Kremlin aide Yuri Ushakov said.