Reuters has learned where Zelensky and Putin may meet

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and Kremlin leader Vladimir Putin may meet in Hungary.

This is reported by Reuters, citing a senior US administration official.

After the meeting at the White House, Zelensky said that Russia proposed to hold a bilateral Ukraine-Russia meeting first, and then a trilateral one.

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said Trump had arranged for a meeting between Zelensky and Putin within the next two weeks. He added that he did not know "whether Putin would have the courage" to attend such a summit.

Finnish President Alexander Stubb said that in a conversation with Trump, Putin agreed to a bilateral meeting with Volodymyr Zelensky. However, Moscow has not officially confirmed this.

Russian presidential aide Yuri Ushakov, following Putinʼs conversation with US President Trump, stated that Russia is ready to "explore the possibility of increasing the level of representation of Moscow and Kyiv" at the negotiations.

Results of the White House talks

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky met with the US President Donald Trump at the White House on August 18. They had a bilateral meeting with delegations, followed by multilateral talks with European leaders.

The talks focused on the issue of guarantees for Ukrainian security. Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni said the parties would start by considering guarantees similar to those in Article 5 of the NATO charter. After the meeting, Trump wrote that the parties discussed what guarantees “would be provided by various European countries under US coordination”.

Zelensky reported a package of Ukrainian proposals for the purchase of American weapons worth $90 billion — they should become part of security guarantees.

At the end of the talks, the American president called Putin. After the conversation, he wrote that he had begun preparing for a trilateral meeting with Zelensky and Putin.

• Sky News reported that the upcoming trilateral meeting between Zelensky, Trump and Putin could take place in Europe. The Italian prime minister has suggested Rome as the venue. Meanwhile, the French president has insisted that it be Geneva, Switzerland. Zelensky and Trump prefer the Vatican, but Putin is leaning towards Geneva.
• The Italian and Swiss foreign ministries have said they are ready to hold talks. However, EU diplomats are also considering other options, including Budapest and Helsinki.
• In March 2023, the International Criminal Court (ICC) issued an arrest warrant for Putin. De jure, 123 countries are closed to him. Hungary is a member of ICC, but has decided to withdraw. The Hungarian National Assembly (parliament) voted on May 20 to withdraw the country from the International Criminal Court. Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó was to notify the UN Secretary-General of the decision.

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