German Chancellor: Russia's agreement to negotiate with Ukraine is primary task

Germany considers it a primary task for Russia and personally President Vladimir Putin to agree to sit at the negotiating table with Ukraine, where the European Union and the United States will also be present, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz told journalists ahead of the European Political Community (EPC) summit, Report's correspondent in Dublin informs.

"First of all, I expect the Russian government and the Russian president to finally agree to joint negotiations. Ukraine must be present at the negotiating table, the Europeans and Americans must be present, and, of course, Russia. Then there will be an opportunity for discussion," he noted.

According to him, European leaders will discuss behind closed doors the issue of who will represent the EU at the negotiations on Ukraine.

"This is a matter we are discussing behind closed doors, not bringing out into the public," the Chancellor emphasized.

Merz noted that the main thing now is to achieve Russia's readiness to sit down at the negotiating table and engage in dialogue. At the same time, he emphasized that the issue lies, in particular, in Russian President Vladimir Putin's readiness for negotiations.

Speaking about the agenda of the EPC summit and the upcoming meeting of the European Council, Merz noted that one of the main issues will be financing support for Ukraine.

Merz stressed that the coming months will be decisive, and the upcoming winter will be very difficult for Ukraine. In this regard, he called on European countries to maintain unity.

In addition, the Chancellor noted positive signals following the trilateral talks held in Abu Dhabi. In his opinion, this provides an opportunity to achieve lasting peace in Europe together with the US.