French President Emmanuel Macron has proposed hosting a summit between Russian President Vladimir Putin and his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Geneva, citing Switzerland as a “neutral country.”
“It's more than a hypothesis; it's the collective will… Perhaps Switzerland. I’m pleading for Geneva,” Macron told TF1-LCI, published on Tuesday, recalling that previous talks took place in Türkiye between Russian and Ukrainian delegations.
"The last time there were bilateral discussions. It was in Istanbul," Macron said.
Türkiye hosted Russian and Ukrainian delegations several times in Antalya and Istanbul, while also securing the Black Sea grain deal that benefited vulnerable nations in Africa and Asia.
The French leader rejected holding a meeting in Paris, referencing the 2019 summit where France and Germany joined Russia and Ukraine at the negotiating table.
President Zelenskyy and European leaders were hosted by US President Donald Trump in the White House on Monday to find a solution to the war between Russia and Ukraine.
Macron noted that after the bilateral talks between Zelenskyy and Putin, a trilateral meeting with Donald Trump could take place, followed by a multilateral meeting.
“Europeans must be at the table,” Macron said.
Neither Moscow nor Kiev has commented on the potential summit in Switzerland yet, leaving the plan in an uncertain diplomatic limbo.
Following consultations with Zelenskyy and European leaders, President Trump said he was preparing the ground for a bilateral Putin-Zelensky summit.
Security guarantees
Macron stressed that the situation has entered a “different phase,” while all the attending leaders agreed on security guarantees for Ukraine and some concessions were discussed.
“We have confirmed for the first time that we are launching the process of working on security guarantees,” Macron said.
He stressed that security guarantees for Ukraine will not involve NATO membership, opposed by Trump, but will focus on building a strong Ukrainian army to “deter” the Russians.
The French president announced that on Tuesday, “we will bring together ‘Coalition of the Willing’ with British Prime Minister Keir Starmer to keep them informed.”
“At the same time, we will launch concrete work with the Americans, to see who is ready to do what.”
He previously urged the US and others to intensify pressure on Russia, including the imposition of new primary and secondary sanctions if peace progress remains stalled.
