Merz not ruling out Ukraine talks in Berlin next week
The E3 group, which includes the UK, France and Germany, has proposed that U.S. President Donald Trump coordinate proposals on achieving peace in Ukraine in the coming days, and hopes that talks could take place early next week, possibly in Berlin.
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said this at a joint briefing with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte in Berlin on Thursday, December 11, according to an Ukrinform correspondent.
Merz described the conversation he held on December 11 with U.S. President Donald Trump, French President Emmanuel Macron, and UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer as very substantive and constructive.
"We proposed to him [President Trump] that we finalize the documents together with the U.S. government over the coming weekend. There is one proposal that, at the time of our call, had not yet been transmitted to the American side. We did that yesterday afternoon. It mainly concerns the territorial concessions Ukraine may be willing to consider," Merz said, stressing that this is a question that must first and foremost be decided by the Ukrainian president and the Ukrainian people.
According to Merz, the E3 partners explained this clearly to President Trump.
"If we move forward in this process as we envision, talks with the U.S. government will take place over the weekend, and at the beginning of next week, a meeting may be held here in Berlin. Whether the U.S. government takes part will also depend on how well we manage to jointly finalize the documents we are currently working on," he said.
He expressed cautious confidence that this will be possible, noting that the call with Trump left the "firm impression" that he is ready to move forward together with the Europeans.
Merz also added that in talks with Trump, Europe's interests are being represented by the E3 together with Poland, Italy, and other neighboring states. Europe, he said, seeks to ensure security, stability, peace, and freedom on the continent, "and wants to include Ukraine in this security framework for all of us."
The chancellor noted that in recent weeks – also thanks to a U.S. initiative – there has been a level of momentum "we have not seen since February 24, 2022."
At the same time, he said, the work remains extremely difficult "for a very simple reason: Putin continues his war against Ukraine's civilian population relentlessly and is clearly dragging out the negotiations."
Against this backdrop, the partners are pursuing three main goals: a ceasefire for Ukraine that will finally end the war after nearly four years; a ceasefire backed by strong legal and material guarantees (unlike the Minsk agreements); and a negotiated solution that takes European security interests into account and cannot come at the expense of EU or NATO unity.
"It would be a mistake to pressure the Ukrainian president into a peace that his people, after four years of suffering and death, are not ready to accept. That is why we are making it clear to him that we remain on Ukraine's side for the long haul to achieve our shared objectives. To that end, we will continue to increase pressure on Moscow," Merz said.