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Swiss president meets Zelensky in Rome ahead of pope’s inauguration

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Karin Keller-Sutter, right, previously met Ukrainian President Zelensky at the World Economic Forum in Davos in January 2025. Keystone Pool / Laurent Gillieron

Karin Keller-Sutter spoke with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in Rome on Saturday night, with discussions mainly focused on the meeting of Russian and Ukrainian delegations in Istanbul the previous day.

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The two politicians discussed the need to reach a ceasefire in Ukraine, as well as humanitarian issues like demining, school meals and bomb shelters in schools, Zelensky wrote on the messaging service Telegram.

Keller-Sutter, who holds the rotating Swiss presidency in 2025, wrote on X that she had again offered Switzerland’s good offices to the Ukrainian president.

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Zelensky also met with Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney, he added on Telegram. The issue of Russian missile and drone attacks was discussed, he specified, stressing that Ukraine needed more air defense systems.

The heads of state were in Rome for the official investiture of the new Pope Leo XIV on Sunday in the Vatican.

According to photos published on X, Keller-Sutter also met with the president of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, the US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, and the Austrian Chancellor Christian Stocker.

Adapted from Italian/French by DeepL/dos

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