German Chancellor Friedrich Merz announced on Monday that Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy are expected to meet within the next two weeks, following renewed diplomatic efforts in Washington to end the war in Ukraine.
Merz’s remarks came after he and other European leaders met US President Donald Trump at the White House. During the talks, Trump phoned Putin directly, agreeing on the need for face-to-face negotiations between the Russian and Ukrainian leaders.
“The American president spoke with the Russian president on the phone and agreed that there would be a meeting between the Russian president and the Ukrainian president within the next two weeks,” Merz told reporters. The location of the meeting is yet to be determined, reports news agencies.
Merz described the White House discussions with Trump and Zelenskyy as highly encouraging. “My expectations have not only been met, but exceeded,” he said.
While optimistic, Merz cautioned against forcing Ukraine to concede territory in exchange for peace. He rejected Russian demands for Kyiv to surrender the free parts of the Donbas region, drawing a sharp comparison.
“The Russian demand that Kyiv give up the free parts of Donbas corresponds, to put it bluntly, to a proposal for the United States to have to give up Florida,” he said.
The discussions also touched on the question of who should provide long-term security guarantees for Ukraine. When asked about the possibility of sending German peacekeepers, Merz said the issue would need careful consultation with European partners and Washington.
“What is totally clear is that all of Europe should be involved. This isn’t just about Ukraine’s territory, it’s about the political order of Europe, and there Germany has a major interest and a major responsibility,” Merz emphasized.
Any German military deployment to Ukraine would require parliamentary approval from the Bundestag.
Meanwhile, Zelensky announced following talks at the White House with Trump and European officials, that his country’s Western allies will present it “within 10 days” with a list of security guarantees to protect it from any new Russian attack if it reaches a peace agreement with Russia.
Zelensky said, “Security guarantees will likely be decided by our partners, and there will be more and more details because everything will be put on paper and formalized within a week to ten days.”
“It is important for the United States to send a clear signal that it will be among the countries that will assist, coordinate, and also participate in security guarantees for Ukraine. I believe this is a major step forward,” he added in a statement published by the Ukrainian presidency.
The Ukrainian president explained that his country had offered to import $90 billion worth of American weapons, while the Financial Times reported that Kyiv intends to purchase $100 billion worth of weapons with European financing. Zelensky’s statement came shortly after Trump announced that Europe, in coordination with the United States, could provide security guarantees to Ukraine as part of a peace agreement with Russia. “During the meeting, we discussed security guarantees for Ukraine, which various European countries would provide, in coordination with the United States,” Trump wrote in a post on his social media platform, Truth Social.
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