WORLD NEWS FOR MONTENEGRO DIASPORA
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AUTHOR:M.J. GDNUS
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said today that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky must be present at the summit between the presidents of the United States (US) and Russia, Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin, and that he cannot accept that Ukrainian and European Union (EU) officials do not consult on ending Russia's war in Ukraine.
"We hope and assume that the Ukrainian government, President Zelensky, will be part of this meeting," Merz said in an interview with German television ARD.
He added that he cannot accept that territorial issues are discussed and decided only between Washington and Moscow, without consulting the EU and Ukraine, and that he assumes that Washington shares his position.
Merz said that Berlin is working closely with Washington to try to secure Zelensky's participation in the negotiations, and that he hopes that the talks will contribute to progress towards a peace agreement between Russia and Ukraine.
"We hope that there will be a breakthrough in the peace talks on Friday," he said, adding that he hopes for a ceasefire, which would allow peace talks to take place in Ukraine.
The EU's High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Kaia Kalas, announced today an extraordinary meeting of EU foreign ministers, which should be held ahead of the Trump-Putin summit, scheduled for Friday in the US state of Alaska.
Zelensky called on his European allies to take what he called clear steps to define a common approach to resolving the conflict.
Trump said on Friday, August 8, that ending the war between Ukraine and Russia, which has been going on since 2022, would include a territorial swap "for the benefit of all."
The Russian military currently controls about 20 percent of Ukraine's territory.
