Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov (Photo: Reuters)

Zelensky said any meeting with the Russian leader should be held in a neutral European country such as Switzerland or Austria and ruled out any summit in Moscow. He said he does not oppose Turkey as a location for the meeting as Turkey is a NATO country and part of Europe.

The same day, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said that President Putin is ready to meet President Zelensky, but only if all the matters requiring discussion at the highest level are thoroughly prepared.

Lavrov said any deal with Ukraine must have clear implementation mechanisms to have a lasting effect. He added that the best option for a security guarantee for Ukraine would be to base it on discussions that took place between Moscow and Kyiv in Istanbul in 2022.

Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto said Hungary is ready to host a Russia-US-Ukraine summit and guarantee the participants’ security.