Merz plans Ukraine talks Wednesday with Trump, Zelenskyy, European leaders

Germany's Chancellor Friedrich Merz, right, and Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy attend a news conference at the chancellery in Berlin, Germany, Wednesday, May 28, 2025.(AP Photo/Markus Schreiber)

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz plans to hold talks with the U.S. and Ukrainian presidents and European leaders on Wednesday, two days ahead of a U.S.-Russia summit in Alaska, his office said.

Merz’s office said Monday he would discuss the Ukraine war with leaders from “Finland, France, the U.K., Italy, Poland, Ukraine, the heads of the European Commission and Council, the secretary general of NATO, as well as the U.S. president and his deputy”.

They would discuss “further options to exert pressure on Russia” and the “preparation of possible peace negotiations and related issues of territorial claims and security”, the statement said.

Merz’s spokesman Stefan Kornelius said the talks, at Merz’s invitation, would be “variously composed roundtable discussions” without giving further details.

According to Germany’s Bild daily, a first conference call will include the European leaders, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, EU chief Ursula von der Leyen and NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte.

This would be followed by a joint call with U.S. President Donald Trump and Vice President JD Vance, the newspaper said.

The summit between Trump and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin has raised concerns among European leaders that an eventual agreement might require Kyiv to cede swathes of territory.

Earlier on Monday German government spokesman Steffen Meyer repeated Berlin’s longstanding position that “borders must not be changed by force”, in reference to Ukrainian territory seized by Russia.