There have been various proposals regarding the location for a bilateral summit between Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. Amid these discussions, on August 19 (local time), French President Emmanuel Macron urged that the summit be held in Switzerland, a neutral country.
In a pre-recorded interview with the French media outlet LCI on the same day, President Macron stated, "I expect the summit to be held in Europe," making this suggestion.
President Macron emphasized, "This is not merely a hypothesis, but a shared will," adding, "The summit will be held in a neutral country, and therefore, Switzerland is possible. I propose Geneva." He also noted, "Other countries are possible as well," and added, "The last bilateral summit was held in Istanbul, T?rkiye." From May to last month, Russia and Ukraine held three high-level meetings in Istanbul, reaching agreements on certain issues such as prisoner exchanges.
Previously, Pope Leo XIV expressed his willingness to host the bilateral summit at the Vatican. However, Russia has maintained that the Vatican is not a suitable location, as it is situated within Italy, a NATO member state, and because Italy supports Ukraine and participates in the European Union's sanctions against Russia.
Meanwhile, the Swiss government has stated that it is prepared to host the summit and will not enforce the arrest warrant issued by the International Criminal Court (ICC) against President Putin should he enter the country. Swiss Foreign Minister Ignazio Cassis told Swiss public broadcaster SRF, "Despite the arrest warrant for Putin, we can host the summit thanks to Geneva's role as the site of the European UN headquarters," adding, "Of course, whether the summit is held ultimately depends on the will of the major powers."
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