Merz proposes Geneva as venue for Putin-Zelenskyy summit

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz has proposed Geneva as the venue for talks between the leaders of Russia and Ukraine.

As reported by ntv, Merz would recommend the Swiss city as the site for such a summit, he said at the Coalition of the Willing conference on Thursday, following his meeting with Swiss President Karin Keller-Sutter in Berlin.

Keller-Sutter expressed readiness to host such a meeting.

Earlier the same day, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan stated that his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Kremlin leader Vladimir Putin were "not yet ready" for a face-to-face meeting.

Media report that US President Donald Trump intends to leave Russia and Ukraine to organise a meeting between their leaders, thereby distancing himself from the negotiations for the time being.

Zelenskyy, speaking to the media on 29 August, reiterated that on Monday 1 September the "couple of weeks" Trump had given Moscow for further steps in the talks – including the organisation of a bilateral meeting with Ukraine – would expire, before the US President returned to the idea of sanctions.