WORLD NEWS FOR MONTENEGRO DIASPORA
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AUTHOR: M.J. GDNUS
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said that the summit between Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin in Alaska had both bright and dark aspects. In an interview with ARD, he spoke about the next steps toward peace in Ukraine and the role of Europe.
Responding to a question from a journalist on the German public broadcaster ARD’s program Brennpunkt ("In Focus") – about how he reacted “to the images Europe woke up to: red carpet and appeasement of a war advocate,” Merz said, as reported by Deutsche Welle, that it was a “lavish protocol. The Russian press is celebrating. A bit less would have been more than enough.”
The journalist then remarked that, “aside from the fact that Putin’s position was elevated, this summit had no agreement without Ukraine. You personally fought for that in recent days. But now there’s no more talk of a ceasefire. Trump and Putin are only speaking about a peace agreement. That means Putin can continue bombing until he gets what he wants. He continued bombing Kyiv even during the talks in Alaska, and that in itself is very brazen. But it shows how confident he feels right now,” Merz stated.
Despite this, he added that there were both bright and dark sides, summarizing the summit between U.S. President Donald Trump and Russian leader Vladimir Putin in Anchorage.
“Good and bad” at the summit
“The good thing is that Trump didn’t make any concessions to Putin when it comes to Ukrainian territory.” That, he said, was a “very critical point” in the talks between Europeans and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky with Trump before the summit.
For Merz, a “positive surprise” was America’s willingness to provide security guarantees for Ukraine – together with the Europeans – even after the war ends.
This, he noted, was not announced at the press conference, but was said in conversations between allies and Trump after the summit.
“America will remain by our side even after the war,” Merz emphasized. “I think that is extremely important.”
Asked how he personally perceived Trump during the video call with Zelensky and European leaders after the meeting with Putin, Merz said the U.S. President was “very pleased with himself.”
Even on the plane to Alaska, Trump stated that a ceasefire was “the most important thing.” Now, however, he believes they should move further – toward a comprehensive peace agreement – and as quickly as possible.
“This now needs to be monitored very carefully,” Merz said.
Zelensky in Washington on Monday
The next step will take place already on Monday in Washington – a meeting between Trump and Zelensky. Merz said he hopes the talks will be on a “very high level” for the Ukrainian president.
According to him, a trilateral meeting between Trump, Zelensky, and Putin was also agreed upon at the summit, which should take place soon.
“Much remains open. But still – the talks have begun. And that is good news,” Merz said. “We support that.”
He emphasized that Germany and Europe remain “closely aligned with Kyiv,” and that they had spoken with Trump just before the summit. Another piece of good news, he added, is that the U.S. president “did not reject any of the points raised at that time.”
“We are well coordinated. Trump is operating within the framework of what we discussed. That’s solid progress, despite some disturbing images,” Merz noted.
“More diplomacy is hardly possible”
The German Chancellor emphasized that it is “very important to him that Europe speaks with one voice.”
“We’ve achieved that. Europe must continue preparing things jointly with the Americans. And so far, we are succeeding. Above all – there must be no territorial concessions from Ukraine before a peace agreement is reached. And that agreement is the moment when security guarantees must come into effect,” Merz explained.
He added that “there is still a lot of work to be done,” but expressed confidence that they will succeed through joint effort.
He also commented on today’s agreement among the allies of the “coalition of the willing” that more needs to be done. Asked what that would specifically entail, he replied:
“First and foremost, it’s about diplomacy. More diplomacy than in the past few days is hardly possible. But it also means being ready for new sanctions, maintaining the existing ones, and continuing military support for Ukraine.”
Finally, he concluded that even after a potential peace agreement, “Europe must finally grow up and become capable of defending itself” – to ensure long-term peace and freedom on the continent without constant reliance on American assistance.
