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Chances of Putin-Zelensky meeting in Geneva almost zero — Swiss lawmaker

There is no guarantee that Vladimir Putin’s plane would not be intercepted under the pretext of enforcing the ICC warrant for his arrest, Guy Mettan, a member of the Geneva cantonal parliament, emphasized

GENEVA, August 26. /TASS/. The likelihood that a potential meeting between Russian President Vladimir Putin and Vladimir Zelensky will take place in Geneva is virtually zero, due to Switzerland’s loss of neutrality and the possibility of the Russian leader’s aircraft being intercepted in flight, Swiss politician, journalist, and writer, Guy Mettan, a member of the Geneva cantonal parliament, said in a post on his Facebook page (banned in Russia; owned by Meta Corporation, designated as extremist in the Russian Federation).

Mettan suggested that, given European airspace remains closed to Russian aircraft, "there is no guarantee" that Putin’s plane would not be intercepted "under the pretext of enforcing the ICC warrant for his arrest, as happened [in 2013] with the aircraft of [then-Bolivian President] Evo Morales, when he was suspected of transporting Julian Assange."

The politician also emphasized that Russia continues to regard Switzerland as an "unfriendly and biased country" in the Ukrainian conflict. According to him, Bern "has taken no meaningful steps to restore its neutrality in Moscow’s eyes," such as "partially lifting certain sanctions or temporarily suspending the application of the ICC treaty." For this reason, Mettan believes the probability of a Putin-Zelensky meeting in Geneva "at present is practically zero."

On August 22, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov stated that a meeting between the Russian president and Vladimir Zelensky is not planned. According to the Russian diplomat, Vladimir Putin will be ready for such a meeting once there is an agenda.

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Vladimir Putin Vladimir Zelensky

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