Zelenskyy considers Turkey, Vatican and Switzerland to be most realistic venues for talks

Ukraine is discussing several venues for possible talks on ending the war, the most realistic being Turkey, the Vatican and Switzerland, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said.

"First of all, I am really grateful to both President Erdogan and Hakan Fidan, the Turkish Foreign Minister. He has a meeting with the Russians. Then I will have a meeting with him in a few days. The Turkish side knows that we are discussing several venues. And that we have done preparatory work regarding the Vatican and Switzerland," Zelenskyy said during a conversation with journalists on May 27.

The President noted that the meeting in the Vatican is supported by everyone except the Russian side.

"Everyone has sent signals about their readiness for the next meetings. And Switzerland. The Swiss side really wants it, we are not against it. Again, we all support it. We have not heard any signals from the Russians," the president said.

According to him, Africa and Malta are also offering their sites, but the Russian Federation has sent a signal about Belarus across this entire spectrum.

"How can I describe what it looks like? If people don't want to, they should say, 'We are not ready now.' Or, 'We don't want to end the war.' Because it's not serious. For us, Belarus is a country from which missiles were launched, so it is an ally of the country that attacked us. The troops came from Belarus. This is simply impossible for Belarus," the president stressed.

"I think the most realistic three venues are: Turkey, the Vatican, and Switzerland. Because they are absolutely clear. We are ready for any format. I believe it is better to move forward rather than constantly looking back," Zelenskyy summed up.