GENEVA, August 19. /TASS/. Switzerland is ready to serve as a venue for a meeting between Russian President Vladimir Putin and Vladimir Zelensky, said Foreign Minister Ignazio Cassis, adding that it could be organized at the drop of a hat if necessary.

"Switzerland is ready to do this even at the shortest notice," he said, when asked about the possibility of holding the meeting in Geneva.

The minister said he had repeatedly stressed this readiness in recent months in contacts with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov. He added that Switzerland "has never stopped efforts to find a peaceful resolution" of the conflict.

Earlier, French President Emmanuel Macron named Geneva as a possible venue for the meeting.

On August 18, US President Donald Trump held a meeting in Washington with Zelensky and the leaders of European countries. Macron, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, Finnish President Alexander Stubb, as well as European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte arrived at the White House with Zelensky. Trump said that the White House would be hosting such a large number of European leaders for the first time in its history.

The one-on-one conversation between Trump and Zelensky lasted about an hour. Then the American president met with the European leaders and Zelensky. Trump also called Putin. According to Russian Presidential Aide Yury Ushakov, their conversation lasted about 40 minutes.