White House reportedly considering Budapest as location for trilateral talks with Zelenskyy and Putin
Politico, citing a Trump administration official and a person close to the administration, reported that the US Secret Service is preparing for the summit in Budapest. The report added that while the Secret Service often scouts multiple locations and the ultimate venue could change, Budapest is emerging as a first choice for the White House.
The choice of Budapest as the venue for the talks may, however, not be a welcome news for Zelenskyy as Hungarian Prime Minister, Viktor Orbán, is a long-time Putin ally.
On Monday, during his meeting with Trump in the White House, Zelenskyy had expressed his willingness to engage in trilateral talks involving himself, Putin and the US President to end the war that has been ongoing since February 2022.
Some European leaders, including French President Emmanuel Macron, had suggested Switzerland as a possible host nation for a meeting between the three presidents.
'It will be [hosted by] a neutral country, maybe Switzerland — I'm pushing for Geneva — or another country,' Macron told French news channel LCI, on Monday.
Swiss Foreign Minister Ignazio Cassis, who welcomed the suggestion, said that his country was willing to host the three leaders.
'We are ready for such a meeting, and we also thank you for the trust placed in us. We have always signalled our willingness, but it naturally depends on the will of the major powers,' he told Swiss state broadcaster SRF.
Putin has an arrest warrant issued by the International Criminal Court (ICC) in 2023 for alleged unlawful deportation and transfer of children from former Ukrainian territories.
On this, Cassis said under certain circumstances, Putin would be allowed to set foot in Switzerland without facing arrest.
Though Trump and Zelenskyy have spoken about the trilateral meeting, there is no confirmation from the Kremlin if Putin has agreed to the same.
On Tuesday, Trump warned that Putin would face a 'rough situation' if he did not cooperate in the peace process 'I hope President Putin is going to be good and if he's not, that's going to be a rough situation,' Trump said.
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