Merz casts doubt on Trump-backed Putin-Zelenskyy meeting

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz stated that direct talks between Russia’s Vladimir Putin and Ukraine’s Volodymyr Zelenskyy are unlikely, even as the Trump administration continues to advocate for a peace agreement.

“Unlike what had been agreed between President Trump and President Putin last week, when we were together in Washington, it is obviously not going to come to a meeting between President Zelenskyy and President Putin,” Merz told reporters ahead of a dinner with French President Emmanuel Macron at Fort de Brégançon, Macron’s summer residence.

Earlier this month, Trump claimed that he had arranged a meeting between Putin and Zelenskyy following a White House gathering of European leaders. However, Moscow later tempered expectations, indicating that such a summit would not take place imminently.

Merz’s remarks come in the wake of a deadly Russian attack on Kyiv August 28, which killed at least 23 people and damaged buildings housing EU and British delegations. Macron condemned the strikes, labelling them as acts of “terror” and “barbarism.”

While European leaders have privately expressed doubts that Trump’s peace initiative with Putin will succeed, Merz’s public statement on Thursday is among the clearest expressions of scepticism from a European leader regarding the US-led effort.

During their meeting, Merz and Macron also sought to project unity on Ukraine while addressing differences on several other issues, including France’s objections to an EU trade deal with the Mercosur bloc, as well as disagreements over defence spending and energy policy.

By Tamilla Hasanova