Merz warns Moscow of increased pressure and demands Russia end the war

Berlin demands serious dialogue from Moscow

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz emphasised during a joint press conference with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy that Russia is obliged to end the war and demonstrate readiness for substantial peace negotiations. The German leader assured that his country would not deviate from its chosen course, continuing to pressure Moscow and provide support to Kyiv.

“Наш сигнал Росії чіткий: настав час покласти край цій війні. Локальне припинення вогню в Олешках може стати прикладом для домовленостей про припинення атак на енергетику та у Чорному морі” (Our signal to Russia is clear: it is time to put an end to this war. A local ceasefire in Oleshky could serve as an example for agreements on ceasing attacks on energy infrastructure and in the Black Sea), Merz stated.

Threats to global food security

According to the Chancellor, Russia is still obstructing diplomatic initiatives. In his view, Russian military attacks in the Black Sea create a risk of further escalation of the conflict and threaten global food security. Merz emphasised that in the event of a food crisis, the poorest countries in the world could suffer the most.

Europe's role in the peace process

Although Friedrich Merz acknowledged that the new round of peace negotiations was the right step, he underlined the necessity of active European participation. In his words, without the involvement of European countries, it is impossible to resolve key settlement issues, particularly regarding sanctions pressure on Russia and the formation of the future security architecture.

Until Moscow proves its readiness for serious dialogue, Berlin will maintain its course of increasing pressure on the Kremlin.

Position of German society

“Ми не звертаємо з обраного курсу: мир для України та безпека для Європи. Хочу ще раз підкреслити: ми підтримуємо Україну, це в наших інтересах, це відповідає нашим інтересам безпеки та політичним, стосується мирного порядку в Європі, яка для нас важлива” (We are not turning away from our chosen course: peace for Ukraine and security for Europe. I would like to emphasise once again: we support Ukraine, this is in our interests, it corresponds to our security and political interests, and concerns the peace order in Europe, which is important to us), Merz added.

The Chancellor also noted that the majority of Germans understand and support the government's position, as they are convinced that “військове насилля в Європі не може призвести до зміни кордонів” (military force in Europe cannot lead to a change of borders).