German Chancellor Friedrich Merz told DW on Sunday that Europe faces a “deep threat” to its security architecture as talks continue in Geneva over a controversial US plan.
Meraz said Ukraine’s sovereignty should not be sacrificed as part of any arrangement, which Washington wants agreed upon by Thursday.
What did Merz say about the Ukraine plan?
Speaking to DW’s Michaela Kuffner after the G20 summit in Johannesburg, Merz said Europe was aware of the proposal and confirmed he had spoken to former US President Donald Trump ahead of his visit to South Africa.
“We have been aware of this 28-point plan since last Friday,” Merz said. “I spoke with President Trump before I left the country. I told him that we can agree on some of them, but there are some that we can’t agree on, and I told him that we are completely with Ukraine, that the sovereignty of this country should not be jeopardized.”
He said the talks in Geneva were serious and were led by national security advisers from the US, Ukraine and Europe. “We don’t know what the outcome of these talks could be,” Merz said. “At the end of the day, Ukraine’s sovereignty cannot be questioned.”
Ukraine’s European allies have pushed back on the plan, which would have required Kiev to give up large swathes of territory to Russia and limit the size of its army, as well as other measures.
Merz said that the war had destabilized Europe for nearly four years. “We are seeing serious attacks on our infrastructure. We are seeing serious attacks on our cyber security. So this is a deep threat to the entire political system of the European continent,” he said. “That’s why we’re so busy.”
He also warned that Trump’s Thursday deadline for agreement on all the details is unrealistic. “I think it is not possible to have agreement on all 28 points,” he said, referring to the limits of what can be achieved in specific timeframes.
What did Merz say about the role of Europe?
Merz confirmed that Europe was proposing a “small step” instead and that it had some influence on what was possible.
“We are trying to figure out which part of this plan can be achieved by consensus between the Europeans, the Americans and Ukraine, on the one hand, and the Russians, on the other,” he said. “It’s extremely complicated… We’re now trying to implement an intermediate step by Thursday. And I know President Trump is really interested in getting at least an intermediate result by Thursday.”
Merz stressed that Europe has influence on key elements of the plan. He said, “Russian assets located in Brussels cannot be paid to the Americans. This is unthinkable.” “So if this plan comes into reality, it definitely needs the support of the European people.”
Merz also said Beijing could also help put pressure on Moscow. He said, “China can play a role. China can put some more pressure on Russia to end this war.”
The chancellor said he had had a “very long meeting” with Chinese Premier Li Kiang in preparation for a state visit next year. He said he hoped a ceasefire could be reached before that visit.
Edited by: Carl Sexton