Merz urged the U.S. to provide Ukraine with additional Patriot missile defense systems to protect itself from Russia’s escalating bombing, Politico reported.
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz urged U.S. President Donald Trump on Thursday to stand with Europe in defense of Ukraine and take action to provide the embattled country with additional missile defense systems.
"Stay with us and stay with the Europeans," Merz said at a conference on Ukraine’s reconstruction in Rome. "We are looking for a stable political order in this world. Stay with us on this side and on this page of our shared history."
Trump’s willingness to continue U.S. support for Ukraine has been in question in recent weeks and months, especially as his administration has hesitated to support a major new Russia-targeting sanctions bill being considered in the U.S. Senate. In early July, the Pentagon halted deliveries of some air defense missiles and other precision munitions to Ukraine.
This week, however, Senate leaders said Trump was ready to support the sanctions package, and the U.S. resumed the halted arms deliveries. That raised hopes in Europe that the Trump administration had reversed course on support for Ukraine amid Russia’s escalating bombing campaign against the embattled country. Despite the recent shift, however, Ukraine's European allies still worry that Trump's support is faltering.
On Thursday, Merz stressed the need to strengthen Ukraine's air defenses in cooperation with the United States by providing Kiev with additional American Patriot missile defense systems, which are used to shoot down Russian missiles and drones.
"I am in close contact with the US government and President Trump on this issue," Merz said. "We are also ready to acquire additional Patriot systems from the US to provide them to Ukraine."
Merz said he spoke with Trump about the Patriots last Thursday and asked the president to "deliver these systems." The US, he added, "needs some of them themselves, but they also have a lot of them and the defence ministers are currently negotiating whether they will be delivered. That has not been decided yet". Axios reported at the time that during the conversation, Trump suggested to Merz that Germany give one of its Patriot systems to Kiev. According to the publication, the heads of state were unable to reach an agreement.
In his comments on Thursday, Merz also criticized Slovakia and its prime minister for blocking the adoption of the 18th package of EU sanctions against Russia.
"I urgently call on Slovakia and its prime minister to abandon resistance and clear the way" for the sanctions package, Merz said. The Chancellor also reaffirmed Germany's support for Ukraine's path to EU membership.
Earlier at the Ukraine Reconstruction Conference in Rome today, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen announced the creation of a European Flagship Fund for the Reconstruction of Ukraine.