German Chancellor Friedrich Merz has called a virtual meeting for Wednesday, 13 August to discuss the war in Ukraine and US President Donald Trump’s upcoming meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin. Donald Trump, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, and representatives of key EU countries are supposed to participate.
The planned meeting was announced by German government spokesman Stefan Kornelius in a press release on Monday, 11 August afternoon. The Russian-American summit is scheduled to take place on Friday, 15 August in Alaska.
According to the press release, the presidents and prime ministers of Finland, France, Germany, Italy, Poland, Ukraine and the United Kingdom will take part. Also Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, Council President António Costa, NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte, US President Donald Trump, and Vice President J. D. Vance will be present, all online. There should be various formats of virtual talks.
The leaders should discuss further options for putting pressure on Russia. — Stefan Kornelius, German government spokesman
“The leaders should discuss further options for putting pressure on Russia. In addition, they will talk about the preparation of possible peace negotiations and related issues of territorial claims and security,” said German government spokesman Kornelius. According to the DPA agency, which cites government sources, the talks will take place via videoconference.
Unknown format of Alaska talks
The US President Trump and Russian leader Putin have agreed to meet in Alaska on Friday, 15 August to discuss ending the war in Ukraine. So far the plan is for a bilateral meeting. According to some media outlets, however, the White House is still considering inviting Ukrainian President Zelensky to Alaska as well.
Ahead of Friday’s summit, European politicians are urging that Ukraine be included in the talks. President Zelensky said that concessions will not persuade Moscow to end its three-and-a-half-year aggression and that, in his view, Western politicians must increase pressure on Russia.
