German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said in an interview with DW on Sunday, November 23, that Europe is facing a "serious threat" for its "security architecture".
According to him, Ukraine's sovereignty should not be sacrificed as part of any agreement that Washington wants to be agreed by Thursday.
What did Merz say about the Ukraine plan?
In an interview conducted after the G20 summit in Johannesburg, Merz said that Europe was aware of the US proposal and confirmed that he had personally spoken to President Donald Trump before leaving for South Africa.
"We have been familiar with this 28-point plan since last Friday," Merz said. "I spoke to President Trump on the phone before I left the country. I told him that we can agree on some points, but there are others that we cannot agree on, and I told him that we fully support Ukraine and that the sovereignty of this country must not be threatened.”
Merz said that the talks on the subject on Sunday in Geneva were serious and were led by national security advisers from the United States, Ukraine and Europe. "We do not know what the outcome will be", Merz said. "Ukraine's sovereignty cannot be questioned at the end of the day."
Ukraine's European allies objected to the plan's counterpoints, which required Kiev to cede large areas of territory to Russia and limit the size of its army, as well as take other measures.
Merz said that the war had destabilized Europe for almost four years. "We are witnessing severe attacks on our infrastructure. We are witnessing severe attacks on our cybersecurity. This is a serious threat to the entire political order of the European continent. That is why we are so strongly committed."
He also warned that Trump's original deadline for reaching an agreement on all the details was unrealistic. "I think it is not possible to reach an agreement on all 28 points," he added.
What did Merz say about Europe's role?
Friedrich Merz confirmed that Europe is proposing a "smaller step" and that it has some influence on what is possible.
"We are trying to understand which part of this plan can be achieved unanimously by the Europeans, the Americans and Ukraine on the one hand and the Russians on the other," he said. "This is extremely complicated... now we are trying to implement an intermediate step by Thursday. And I know that President Trump is really interested in having at least an interim result by Thursday.”
Merz stressed that Europe has leverage over key elements of the plan. “The Russian assets that are in Brussels cannot be paid to the Americans. That is unthinkable,” he said. “So if this plan is to be implemented, the support of the Europeans is definitely needed.”
Merz also said that Beijing could also help put pressure on Moscow. “China can play a role. China can put even more pressure on Russia to end this war,” he said.
The Federal Chancellor added that he had had a “very long meeting” with Chinese Premier Li Keqiang as he prepared a state visit next year. He expressed hope that a truce would be reached before this visit.
Authors: Michaela Küfner | Richard Connor