Merz says Ukraine needs a peace plan after call with Zelenskyy and European leaders

German chancellor Friedrich Merz said that Ukraine needs a peace plan. He voiced this opinion after a call with the president Volodymyr Zelenskyy and other European partners following talks at the White House on October 17. The politician's words reports German public broadcaster Deutsche Welle, citing German government spokesman Stefan Cornelius.

He said that during the conversation, European leaders, including Merz, promised to increase support for Ukraine in order to "encourage Russia to engage in serious negotiations."

In particular, it is planned to increase pressure on Moscow through sanctions and to use frozen Russian assets, DW reports.

"Volodymyr Zelenskyy enjoys the full support of Germany and our European friends on the path to peace," Cornelius quoted Merz as saying.

He noted that after the meeting between the president of Ukraine and the head of the US Donald Trump the heads of European countries discussed further actions with Zelenskyy and intend to continue to closely monitor the next steps.

The media does not provide any other details about the "peace plan" for Ukraine.

Earlier, the American resource Axios, citing an interlocutor who took part in the call, reported that during the conversation, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer offered to work with the United States to develop a peace plan for Ukraine in the manner of what the US president has done to resolve the in the Gaza Strip.

• President Zelenskyy said that one of the topics of his call with European partners after his meeting with Trump was security guarantees, and the parties discussed air defense and PURL mechanism on the purchase of American weapons for Ukraine.
• The president of Ukraine noted that the country needs security guarantees from the United States, as they are the only ones who have contact with Russia.