Agency Report –
“The discussions are being conducted very intensively these days,” the conservative politician said in the south-western German city of Heidelberg. “We are trying to involve the US government in the talks we are having among ourselves, as well as with the Ukrainian government and the Ukrainian president.”
Merz emphasized that the security guarantees, which have been discussed for several weeks, primarily focus on the permanent strengthening of the Ukrainian army to enable the country to defend itself independently.
“We are ready to make our own contributions to this. Contributions from the US side will also be needed,” Merz said. The question of how and in what details this will be integrated into an overall concept remains open, he added.
There are currently no details on a possible meeting. “In this respect, there are still many, many questions open, and they are all the subject of the discussions currently taking place,” said the German chancellor.
He stressed, “We know that without security guarantees, we cannot protect Ukraine in the long term.” Merz recently suggested that after talks over the weekend, there could be a meeting in Berlin at the beginning of next week.
In Heidelberg, Merz did not comment on this when asked. Deputy government spokesman Steffen Meyer explained in Berlin that there is currently a “very high dynamic” in the process.
