Merz Says Pressure on Russia Must Be Increased to Launch Peace Talks

In order to move to serious peace talks, it is necessary to increase pressure on Russia. This was stated by the new German Chancellor Friedrich Merz today, 9 May, in Brussels following a meeting with European Council President Antonio Costa, commenting on his conversation with US President Donald Trump yesterday.

The Gaze reports on this with reference to FREE Europe.

‘I think now is the time to move on and turn the ceasefire into the beginning of peace talks. When it came to the number of soldiers lost on both sides, Trump was very, very aware of that. He's very aware of the price, the human price that has to be paid in terms of casualties in the armed forces and others. That's why I think he needs to increase pressure on Russia so that after this weekend we can move to a stage where serious negotiations can take place,’ Merz said.

As a reminder, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz has said that the European Union should build its own unified defence industry. In his opinion, this is especially important in order to continue supporting Ukraine.

As The Gaze reported earlier, newly sworn-in German Chancellor Friedrich Merz has reaffirmed Germany's steadfast commitment to Ukraine, placing support for Kyiv at the heart of his foreign policy agenda.