European Union foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas has said it is "not nice" that Russian President Vladimir Putin might travel to EU member Hungary for talks on the war in Ukraine.
US President Donald Trump said on Thursday that he would soon meet Mr Putin in Budapest.
Ms Kallas told reporters ahead of a gathering of European foreign ministers in Luxembourg that Mr Trump's efforts to bring peace were welcome but that it was also important for Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy to meet the Russian leader.
"America has a lot of strength to pressure Russia to come to the negotiation table, if they use that then, of course, this is good if Russia stops this war," Ms Kallas said.
French President Emmanuel Macron welcomed the planned meeting, but said Ukrainians and Europeans should be included.
"From the moment they discuss the fate of Ukraine, the Ukrainians should be at the table. From the moment they discuss what impacts the security of Europeans, the Europeans should be at the table," he told reporters after a summit of southern EU leaders in Slovenia.
More EU sanctions
Mr Putin faces an arrest warrant from the International Criminal Court, which Hungary is in the process of leaving. Russia has repeatedly denied that its forces have committed atrocities in Ukraine and argues the ICC has no jurisdiction over it.
"Regarding Budapest, no, it's not nice ... to see that really a person put to the arrest warrant by the ICC is coming to a European country," Ms Kallas said, adding that the "question is whether there is any outcome".
Mr Zelensky said he would be willing to go to Budapest, if a trilateral meeting or a "shuttle diplomacy" format was proposed.
Ms Kallas said she expected that a 19th package of sanctions against Russia would be adopted this week, but said that approval would not come on Monday.
Lithuanian Foreign Minister Kestutis Budrys said that there was no place for Mr Putin in any European capital.
"The only place for Putin in Europe (is) in The Hague, in front of the tribunal, not in any of our capitals," he said ahead of the ministers' meeting.
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Finland's Foreign Minister Elina Valtonen also raised concern about Mr Putin's possible visit to an EU country.
"Let's see where the meeting will be held and in which format but it is of course evident that within the EU area a war criminal, such as Putin, should not be welcome," she told reporters.
French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot said that Mr Putin's planned trip only made sense if it led to an immediate and unconditional ceasefire, while Dutch Foreign Minister David van Weel told reporters "the most important thing is that we have a negotiating table".
Two people briefed on the discussion said Mr Trump pushed Mr Zelensky to give up swaths of territory to Russia during a tense meeting in Washington on Friday. After his meeting with Mr Zelensky, Mr Trump publicly called for a ceasefire on the current frontlines.
A Kremlin aide has said that Mr Putin had reiterated to Mr Trump in a call on Thursday his longstanding position on the state of the war, saying Russian troops had the strategic initiative along the whole front line.
Earlier, Mr Zelensky said Ukraine was preparing a contract to buy 25 Patriot air defence systems, in what would be a huge boost to Kyiv's abilities to defend against Russia's aerial bombardments.
He said they would be supplied every year for a number of years and that Ukraine would ask for some European nations to give his country priority in the queue for the systems.
Patriots are seen by Kyiv as the most effective systems to stop Russian ballistic missiles, which travel several times faster than the speed of sound.
Meanwhile, EU countries have agreed to phase out their remaining gas imports from Russia by the end of 2027.
