Merz says Ukraine peace impossible without Kyiv, Europe

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said Tuesday, October 27, that attempts by the United States and Russia to end the war in Ukraine "can never find solutions without Ukraine." He added that European countries must also take part in any talks, Reuters reported. He spoke in Singapore on the same day the leaders of Finland and Norway held a rare phone call with Vladimir Putin, as a new round of US-mediated negotiations approaches.rmb.reuters.com

A seat at the table

Merz made the remarks at the Yusof Ishak Institute, where he described efforts to build a negotiating format with Moscow, according to Reuters. He said Russia, Ukraine, the United States and European countries should all be at the negotiating table. He warned against a scenario in which "Russia, perhaps China and the United States of America" end the war without Ukraine. "They can talk and negotiate among themselves, but without Ukraine, they will never be able to find a solution," he said, as quoted by UA.NEWS.economictimes.com+1

Merz said the end of the war depended "only on one person." He added that "as long as he (Putin) does not want to end the war, we will support Ukraine," and described that support as a defense of "the entire political order of the European continent". Germany and other European countries are trying to set up a format for talking with the Russian government, he said, with Norway and Finland playing "a very constructive role". Singapore is the first stop on a three-nation Asian tour for Merz.newsukraine.rbc.ua+2

Nordic call with Putin

Earlier Tuesday, Finnish President Alexander Stubb and Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre called Putin. Western European leaders have mostly avoided contact with the Russian president since February 2022. "Ending the war requires direct discussions," Stubb said in a statement. Støre told NRK that the call ran 90 minutes instead of the planned 20, and that the two sides' positions differed widely.english.nv.ua+1

A source close to the Kremlin told Reuters that Putin said Russia would not compromise on its aim of capturing all of Ukraine's Donbas region. The Kremlin's own readout said peace requires Russia's interests to be taken into account "fully and unconditionally".hromadske.ua+1

Doubts and next steps

Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen criticized the call. She said she saw no sign that Russia wants peace and urged Europeans to stay coordinated rather than act on their own. Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson also expressed doubt about the call's prospects.en.interfax.com.ua+1

The Nordic leaders said they spoke for their own countries and consulted Kyiv beforehand. Their call followed Oslo talks on October 20 with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and US envoy Steve Witkoff. Talks between Ukraine, the US and Russia are set to take place in Abu Dhabi in November. Zelenskyy said the Nordic leaders told Putin that "real de-escalatory steps are needed regarding our energy and infrastructure".yahoo.com+1