Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky recently told reporters that Turkey, Austria, and Switzerland could serve as potential venues for a Russia-Ukraine summit.
Zelensky stated that selecting a neutral European country as the meeting location would be "fair," noting "Switzerland, Austria - we agree with both." He also mentioned Turkey as a potential host, emphasizing that "Turkey is a NATO country and also part of Europe."
Multiple locations have been proposed for the potential Russia-Ukraine summit. French President Emmanuel Macron suggested on August 19 that a future meeting between Putin and Zelensky should take place in Europe, specifically mentioning Geneva, Switzerland.
The BBC has also identified Budapest, Hungary as a potential venue, reportedly with U.S. support. Hungarian Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó expressed openness to hosting, stating "They can come to Hungary anytime. We just need one hour's advance notice."
However, Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk posted on social media on August 20, expressing opposition to holding the meeting in Budapest. Zelensky echoed these concerns, saying "To be honest, Budapest has not supported us." He clarified that he wasn't suggesting Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán's policies are anti-Ukraine, but acknowledged that holding talks in Budapest would be "challenging."
According to reports, Zelensky has ruled out the possibility of holding any summit in Moscow, the Russian capital.