German Chancellor Friedrich Merz has stated that European and Ukrainian interests must be protected at the upcoming summit between the presidents of the US and Russia in Alaska.
Speaking at a joint press conference in Berlin with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy after participating in a video conference with US President Donald Trump, Merz said important decisions could be made at the Alaska summit on Friday.
"We Europeans are doing everything in our power to steer this meeting in the right direction. We want President Donald Trump to succeed on Friday in Anchorage," Merz said, referring to the summit to be held in Alaska.
He stressed that fundamental European and Ukrainian security interests must be protected in Alaska.
"This was the message that we, as Europeans, conveyed today to US President Trump, and I can say that we had a strong agreement both in the assessment of the current situation and in the achievable objective for next Friday," said Merz.
The German Chancellor said that European leaders have already set out their expectations from last weekend's meeting and that over the past few days their top diplomats have discussed these points in detail with the American side.
"The American president knows that when the US works for peace in Ukraine, while protecting European and Ukrainian interests, then he can fully rely on us," Merz said, outlining five main points that represent their expectations for the upcoming US-Russia talks.
"We have made it clear that Ukraine must be at the table as soon as there are follow-up meetings. We want the negotiations to take place in the right order. A ceasefire should be the starting point. Then, the main elements should be agreed in a framework agreement," he said.
Third, Merz stressed, “Ukraine is ready to negotiate on territorial issues, but the so-called contact line should be the starting point” and “the legal recognition of the Russian occupation of Ukraine is not up for discussion.” According to him, the principle that borders cannot be changed by force should continue to apply.
Fourth, he added, "the negotiations must include strong security guarantees for Kiev."
"The Ukrainian armed forces must be able to effectively defend the sovereignty of their country and also be able to rely on long-term Western assistance," Merz said.
The German Chancellor emphasized that fifthly, "the negotiations must be part of a common transatlantic strategy, as only then are they more likely to succeed."
