Zelensky suggested Kazakhstan for a meeting with Putin

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy suggested Kazakhstan as a location for a meeting with Putin. During a lengthy interview with Fox News Zelensky confirmed that he is ready for possible negotiations with the Russian president and named the locations where they will be held.

The Ukrainian leader noted that he cannot hold the meeting in Moscow, but is open to various options.

“We proposed various locations for the meeting—Turkey, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, neutral Europe, countries like Austria or Switzerland. We said, ‘If you want, we can do it in Kazakhstan,’ and we’re ready,” Zelensky said in an interview.

The Kremlin responded to Zelensky’s proposal to hold talks in Kazakhstan as follows:

“The Ukrainians are pouring out a ton of proposals, naming a huge number of countries. And at first, they weren’t pushing for Kazakhstan at all, but for countries that are absolutely unacceptable to us as a venue,” Russian presidential press secretary Dmitry Peskov said in an interview with RBC.

Thus, according to Peskov, Switzerland and Austria are de facto no longer neutral for Russia.

As a reminder, President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev met with Volodymyr Zelenskyy on the sidelines of the 80th session of the UN General Assembly.