Berlin: German Chancellor Friedrich Merz will travel to Washington on Monday, joining Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and other European leaders for talks with US President Donald Trump, the German government announced on Sunday.
According to a statement, the visit is for an “exchange of information” with Trump following his meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin in the US state of Alaska on Friday, Xinhua News Agency reported.
After the Alaska summit, Zelensky announced that he would meet Trump in Washington on Monday.
Merz is expected to discuss the current state of peace efforts, the statement said, adding that security guarantees, territorial issues, and continued support for Ukraine will be addressed.
Earlier on Saturday, Trump held a telephonic meeting with the European leaders and Ukraine’s Zelensky to brief them on his discussions with the Russian President in Alaska.
Following the meeting, Presidents Trump and Putin said that they made progress in three hours of talks on Friday, moving closer to finding an end to the Ukraine War, but did not announce an immediate ceasefire.
Meanwhile, the US President took to his social media platform Truth Social on Saturday, calling the meeting with Putin in Alaska a successful one.
“A great and very successful day in Alaska! The meeting with President Vladimir Putin of Russia went very well, as did a late-night phone call with President Zelenskyy of Ukraine, and various European Leaders, including the highly respected Secretary General of NATO. It was determined by all that the best way to end the horrific war between Russia and Ukraine is to go directly to a Peace Agreement, which would end the war, and not a mere Ceasefire Agreement, which often times do not hold up,” Trump posted.
“President Zelensky will be coming to DC, the Oval Office, on Monday afternoon. If all works out, we will then schedule a meeting with President Putin. Potentially, millions of people’s lives will be saved. Thank you for your attention to this matter!” the post added.
European leaders including French President Emmanuel Macron, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, German Chancellor Merz, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, Finnish President Alexander Stubb, Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk, Portuguese President Antonio Costa, President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen welcomed President Trump’s efforts to “stop the killing in Ukraine, end Russia’s war of aggression”, and achieve just and lasting peace.
“As President Trump said, ‘there’s no deal until there’s a deal’. As envisioned by President Trump, the next step must now be further talks, including President Zelensky, whom he will meet soon. We are also ready to work with President Trump and President Zelensky towards a trilateral summit with European support,” read a joint statement issued by the European leaders after Saturday’s phone call.
(IANS)
