Merz says Europe must have a seat at Ukraine peace talks

In brief

• German Chancellor Friedrich Merz says European states must take part in peace talks on Ukraine.
• He names sanctions and future security architecture as key issues that cannot be settled without Europe.
• Merz points to a local Oleshky ceasefire as a possible model and says Germany will increase pressure on Russia.

Europe wants a place at the table

Chancellor Friedrich Merz said European countries are seeking to join the peace talks on ending the war in Ukraine and must do so, because the core issues cannot be resolved without them (Мерц заявив, що мирні переговори неможливі без участі Європи – Українська правда). Speaking at a joint press conference with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in Berlin, he said a new round of negotiations was the right step, but that Europe had to be part of it (Мерц розповів, чому мирні переговори неможливі без Європи – Європейська правда).

Sanctions and security architecture

Merz named two central questions: sanctions against Russia and the future security architecture for Europe. In his view, all parties understand that neither can be decided without European participation.

Local ceasefire as a model

Merz pointed to a local ceasefire around Oleshky as a possible template for agreements to halt attacks on energy infrastructure and in the Black Sea. He said Russia had so far undermined such efforts.

Pressure on Moscow

Merz said Russia must now show it is ready for serious negotiations. Until then, he said, Germany and its partners would increase pressure on Moscow and keep supporting Ukraine by all means.

Winter support

According to UNIAN, the chancellor said his government is taking measures to provide Ukraine with additional aid to help it get through the winter (Мерц пояснив, чому Європі необхідне місце за столом переговорів щодо України – UNIAN).

Background

U.S. special envoy Steve Witkoff announced that trilateral talks on ending the Russia-Ukraine war would take place the following week in the United Arab Emirates, focusing on next steps toward peace. Czech President Petr Pavel earlier said a window of opportunity existed for Europe to join the talks, but that it could close if European states failed to agree on a unified position.