Potential triumph for a Trump-Putin meeting, according to Friedrich Merz, hinges on judicious actions
In a series of statements following the meeting between US President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz emphasized the importance of robust and inclusive security guarantees for Ukraine.
Merz, a member of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU), expressed optimism about the potential for success in the US-Russia summit, but stressed that the success of the summit relies on taking the "right steps." He made these remarks on Saturday to broadcasters RTL and ntv.
In contrast, Carlo Masala from the University of the German Armed Forces criticized US President Trump for not keeping previously agreed arrangements with Putin. However, Masala did not provide any evidence to support his claim nor did he specify what arrangements he was referring to.
Masala also noted that from Moscow's perspective, the meeting was a great success for Putin, who made no compromises. He added that Trump switched to Putin's line, wanting a peace agreement instead of a ceasefire. However, Masala did not mention any specific peace agreement that Trump and Putin discussed during their meeting.
Trump, in the meeting, explained how intensively he discussed with Putin the modalities of a peace agreement. He also promised that America is ready to provide security guarantees for Ukraine. Masala demanded that if a peace agreement is negotiated, Ukraine must be involved.
Despite the lack of specific details, Merz emphasized that the security guarantees needed for Ukraine should be rigorous and must involve Ukraine’s consent. He stressed that no decisions about Ukraine’s security and territorial matters should be made without Ukrainian President Zelenskiy’s agreement, highlighting the importance of including Ukraine in negotiations and peace talks initiated by Trump and Putin.
However, the precise specific security guarantees that Trump offered to provide to Ukraine were not detailed publicly by Merz. The main work on a peace agreement, if there is no ceasefire, lies ahead for all parties involved.
From a European perspective, Masala said that the saying "You can't rely on the USA anymore" applies again. This sentiment was echoed by Merz who sees opportunities for the US-Russia summit to succeed, but cautioned that the success requires taking the "right steps."
[1] Source: RTL and ntv [2] Source: German Chancellor Friedrich Merz's official statements [3] Source: University of the German Armed Forces statements by Carlo Masala
- The ongoing discussions about war-and-conflicts, particularly those involving Ukraine, are a significant part of current politics and general news, as evidenced by the statements made by German Chancellor Friedrich Merz regarding the US-Russia summit.
- In the realm of European politics and general news, there are growing concerns about the reliability of the USA, as voiced by Carlo Masala from the University of the German Armed Forces, in light of the US-Russia summit discussions on security guarantees for Ukraine.
