Mertz to Trump and partners: We need a truce before meeting with Putin, let's put pressure on Russia

German chancellor Friedrich Merz called for a truce in the Russian-Ukrainian war during a meeting with the US president Donald Trump, the head of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy and European partners in the White House.

"The next steps will be more difficult. Now the way is open. You opened it last Friday [with the Alaska summit], but now the way is open for difficult negotiations. And frankly, we would all like to see a ceasefire at least from the next meeting. I can't imagine that the next meeting will take place without a ceasefire. So let's work on it. And let's try to put pressure on Russia, because the credibility of these efforts that we are making today depends at least on a ceasefire from the beginning of serious negotiations at the next stage," the German PM said.

Therefore, Merz said that he would like to emphasize the need for a truce and would like to see it from the next trilateral meeting (Zelenskyy, Trump and Russian dictator Vladimir Putin), wherever such a summit is held.

In his speech, Macron also supported the ceasefire to organize a trilateral meeting, noting that all partners are in favor of this idea.

Trump, on the other hand, said that everyone would like an immediate ceasefire, suggesting that it could come, but "it's not happening right now."

He also noted that he did not know whether a truce was necessary to end the war, as other conflicts had been resolved without it (it should be noted that some of them, for example, Armenian-Azerbaijani were not in a hot phase, and the deal between India and Pakistan – is a ceasefire without a final peace agreement – Ed.)

Earlier, during a conversation with Zelenskyy and the press in the Oval Office, the US president said that he would not insist on a ceasefire as a condition for a peace agreement, because "It may be unprofitable for one of the parties".

• Read about these and other events in the chronicle by LIGA.net on the progress of negotiations to end the Russian-Ukrainian war.