Merz urges Putin to hold Ukraine talks without preconditions
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz called on Russian President Vladimir Putin to take seriously U.S. President Donald Trump’s offer to launch negotiations on Ukraine, his office said in an official statement.
“Russia today has an opportunity to agree to a ceasefire and halt military action,” the statement said.
Merz said the central goal of Friday’s meeting between Trump and Putin in Alaska on August 15 is a summit that will also include Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.
“We expect President Putin to take President Trump’s offer of talks seriously and, after the Alaska meeting, enter negotiations with Ukraine without preconditions,” the German chancellor said.
Any potential talks between Kyiv and Moscow should result in a ceasefire agreement that provides Ukraine with reliable security guarantees, Merz added. Territorial issues, he said, can only be decided with the consent of Ukrainians. “We conveyed these messages clearly and unanimously to President Trump before his trip to Anchorage. I remain in contact with him. President Trump can take a significant step toward establishing peace,” Merz said.
The August 15 session in Alaska will be the first meeting between the U.S. and Russian presidents since the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Trump and Putin are set to meet at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson in Anchorage.
According to Russian presidential aide Yuri Ushakov, the talks will begin with a one-on-one between Trump and Putin at 11:30 a.m. local time (10:30 p.m. Moscow time), with interpreters present. Discussions will then expand to include both delegations, followed by a working lunch.
The Russian delegation will include Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, Ushakov, Defense Minister Andrei Belousov, Finance Minister Anton Siluanov and Kirill Dmitriev, the president’s special representative for investment and economic cooperation with foreign countries. U.S. media report that Trump will be accompanied in Anchorage by Vice President J.D. Vance, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, presidential special envoy Steve Witkoff and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent.
After the talks, Putin and Trump plan a joint press conference. The central topic will be “a settlement in Ukraine,” including in light of discussions held at the Kremlin on August 6 with Witkoff.
Ushakov said broader issues will also be on the table, including peace and security and bilateral cooperation, particularly in trade and economic ties.