Merz spoke out about sending peacekeepers to Ukraine
Friedrich Merz named another priority for the work of EU leaders, noting that this is where all efforts are focused.
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz has said that Europe is not currently considering the option of sending peacekeeping troops to Ukraine. In a statement published by Reuters, Merz stressed that efforts at this stage are focused on ensuring an unconditional cease-fire on the part of Russia.
There is no reason to talk about peacekeepers at the moment. We are far from that. Our main goal is a ceasefire, to stop the violence," Mertz said.
He added that the next step should be to determine the format of peace talks and to find out what security guarantees can be offered to Ukraine. The chancellor noted that the talks in Istanbul did not bring the expected results despite the constructive position of the Ukrainian side.
At the same time, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni said that her country was open to any international format aimed at ending hostilities, but emphasised the importance of maintaining the unity of the West.
Western unity has been our strongest position since the beginning of the conflict," Meloni said, adding that in such difficult times it is important to put aside personal differences in favour of a common goal.
It should be noted that on Friday, on the sidelines of the summit in Albania, the leaders of France, Germany, Britain and Poland, as well as Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky met to discuss the situation. On the same day, they contacted US President Donald Trump, who said on Saturday that he would hold talks with Vladimir Putin on Monday.
Earlier, US special envoy for Ukraine and Russia Keith Kellogg said that the states were discussing the deployment of a "resilience force" (resilience force) in Ukraine to maintain peace, and even announced that he was referring to British, French, German and Polish troops.