German Chancellor, Friedrich Merz, on Tuesday, accused Russia of deliberately stalling efforts to reach a peace agreement with Ukraine, calling Moscow’s approach a “delaying strategy.”
Speaking at a joint press conference with Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney in Berlin, Merz said Russian President Vladimir Putin is intentionally obstructing a potential meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.
He emphasised that such a meeting could help bring the war to an end.
“Putin believes it is right to tie this meeting to preconditions that, from Ukraine’s perspective, and also from ours and my personal point of view, are completely unacceptable,” Merz stated.
Merz referenced recent meetings involving U.S. President Donald Trump, Putin and Zelensky, which had raised hopes of a possible peace deal.
After discussions in Alaska with Putin and later in Washington with Zelensky and European partners, Trump gave the impression that a breakthrough might be imminent.
A meeting between Putin and Zelensky was reportedly planned to take place within two weeks of those talks, but the deadline is now approaching with no progress in sight.
“The ball is now in Moscow’s court,” Merz said. “If the Russian side fails to take this step, then even more pressure will be needed”.
He added that the European Union is already preparing additional sanctions in response to Russia’s continued inaction.
“If the meeting agreed between Trump and Putin does not happen, then the ball is back in our court,” Merz warned.
The Chancellor also floated the idea of a trilateral meeting involving himself, Trump and Zelensky as a potential “logical next step” in breaking the diplomatic deadlock.
Prime Minister Carney echoed Merz’s concerns, accusing Putin of fearing a direct dialogue with Zelensky.
“Canada remains committed to supporting peace and security in Ukraine, which can only be achieved through strength, and sanctions, against Russia,” Carney said.
