Macron says Putin-Zelensky meeting possible in 2 weeks

PARIS - French President Emmanuel Macron said on Tuesday that a meeting between Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky could happen in the next two weeks.

Speaking in an interview with the LCI news channel, Macron said that Putin, who held phone talks with US President Donald Trump on Monday, expressed his readiness to meet Zelensky within that timeframe. "We have decided to have a bilateral meeting between the two presidents, then a trilateral meeting (with Trump), and then a multilateral meeting where the Europeans must be at the table," Macron said.

The French president added that such meetings should be held in Europe, reflecting the "collective will" of European leaders. Unlike their 2019 meeting in France, Macron suggested that the upcoming meetings could take place in a "neutral country," such as Switzerland or Turkiye, where Russia and Ukraine have previously held bilateral talks.