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Two Geneva parks home to historic villas that may host Russia-US summit talks close

The parks will be closed from June 8 until June 18

GENEVA, June 7./TASS/. Geneva’s authorities are closing two city parks (Parc La Grange and Parc des Eaux Vives) June 8 through June 18, whose central villas may be the venue for the upcoming Russia-US summit, according to Swiss media outlets. Park officials confirmed the closure to TASS on Monday.

"Yes, Parc La Grange is being closed until June 18, and Parc des Eaux Vives as well," an administrative official told TASS. She said she had no idea as to the reason behind the decision.

Earlier, Swiss media named the18th-century villas centrally located in the two adjacent city parks as a possible venue for the June 16 summit between Presidents Vladimir Putin of Russia and Joe Biden of the United States.

The La Tribune de Geneve newspaper suggested that the summit in Geneva could take place at a villa but not at a hotel. Prior to that, Swiss media forecasted that Putin and Biden were likely to meet at the InterContinental Hotel in Geneva, where ex-Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev and then US President Ronald Reagan met back in 1985. According to Le Tan newspaper, its conveniently situated close to international organizations.