The current line of contact should be the starting point in any talks, the German chancellor has said
Kiev is ready to discuss “territorial issues” with Moscow, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said on Wednesday after a video conference with US President Donald Trump and European leaders.
The virtual meeting, which involved the leaders of Germany, Finland, France, the UK, Italy, Poland, and the EU, as well as Trump and Ukraine’s Vladimir Zelensky, focused on the upcoming summit between Trump and his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin.
Kiev’s backers in Europe were determined to ensure the security interests of Ukraine and the EU are “safeguarded in Alaska,” Merz told journalists, adding that they relayed a message to that effect to Trump. The group put forth five “key points,” according to the chancellor.
One of them stated that Kiev is “willing to negotiate on territorial issues” but only if the current line of contact is used as the starting point. “Legal recognition” of Russia’s new regions by the Western nations is “not up for debate,” Merz stated.
Other points included a demand for a ceasefire before any “framework agreement” can be negotiated, as well as “robust security guarantees” for Kiev.
Zelensky, who was also present at the press conference in Berlin, stated that he agreed with all five of the points voiced by Merz only to state minutes later that his position on territorial concessions to Russia remains unchanged.
The Ukrainian leader has repeatedly rejected the idea of recognizing Russian sovereignty over the former Ukrainian territories that joined Russia following a series of referendums and maintained that Ukraine should be restored to within its 1991 borders. When further pressed on the issue by a journalist, he said that all such questions would be decided at the level of national leaders and that it bears waiting for the outcome of the Alaska meeting.
Russia has repeatedly stated that it is open to reaching a deal to end the hostilities but has stressed that any agreement would have to address the root causes of the conflict and reflect the realities on the ground. This includes the status of the former Ukrainian territories that have joined Russia.
