Ukrainian President Zelensky can imagine that a meeting with Kremlin chief Putin could take place in Austria. It is still unclear whether this summit will actually occur. However, Zelensky expects sanctions from the United States if Putin cancels the summit. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky linked a meeting with Kremlin leader Vladimir Putin to an agreement on security guarantees for his country.
“We want to reach an agreement on the architecture of security guarantees within seven to ten days,” Zelensky explained. Based on this, a meeting with U.S. President Donald Trump and Putin could also take place. Ukraine seeks neutral venue Switzerland, Austria, or Turkey could be considered as possible venues for a trilateral summit, Zelensky continued. He considered Budapest “not easy” as a venue in light of Hungary’s rapprochement with Russia, he added. Ukraine favors a neutral meeting location.
According to Trump, Putin had proposed Moscow as the summit’s venue, which Zelensky rejected. Stocker proposed meeting in Vienna A few days ago, as reported, Chancellor Christian Stocker (ÖVP) had already proposed Vienna as a possible venue for negotiations with Putin. There is an arrest warrant against the Kremlin leader from the International Criminal Court on charges of war crimes, which makes finding a venue difficult. An exception could be made here.
“As the host country of various international organizations, including the OSCE, Austria has many years of experience in organizing international meetings and promoting dialogue and is ready to act as a host and mediator for possible peace talks, if desired,” said a spokesperson for the Foreign Ministry. However, there would be the possibility of contacting the Court in Vienna on the basis of host agreements with international organizations to allow Putin to participate in peace talks.
“Austria will continue to support any initiative that leads to a just and lasting peace,” Stocker wrote on Platform X. Such peace should protect “both the security interests of Ukraine and those of Europe.” Still, it remains unclear to what extent Putin is willing to meet with Zelensky. The Russian president has questioned Zelensky’s legitimacy as Ukrainian president on several occasions. Zelensky called for a “strong reaction” from the United States in the event that Putin refuses a bilateral meeting.
“If the Russians are not ready, we would like to see a strong response from the United States,” Zelensky said. He himself is ready for a meeting. “Putin wants to sell us air” Zelensky once again made a clear statement regarding possible territorial concessions.
Russia had demanded that Ukrainian troops withdraw from Donbass in exchange for freezing the front. Zelensky finds this dubious and explained it to Trump as well. “I said: Putin wants to sell us air,” Zelensky told Der Spiegel. “I consider this manipulative information on his part. He knows it will not happen that way, and he even expects it.”
