German Chancellor Friedrich Merz struck a cautiously optimistic tone after the Alaska summit between U.S. President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin.
During the closely watched one-on-one meeting in Alaska on Friday, Trump moved “within the line” he had discussed with EU leaders earlier in the week, Merz said in an interview with German public broadcaster ARD that was broadcast late Saturday.
“And I think that is good progress … despite the one or two disturbing images we may have seen,” Merz said. “The press in Russia is jubilant. A little less would also have been enough,” he added.
Trump spoke with top EU leaders including Merz on Saturday morning to debrief them on the high-stakes bilateral summit, which ended without an agreement.
Describing the Alaska summit as a meeting of “light and shadow,” Merz stressed as a positive the fact that Trump made no concessions on Ukraine’s national sovereignty and borders. “No territorial concessions before there is a peace treaty,” Merz insisted.
His comments come amid reports that Trump told the European leaders that he now favors Ukraine giving up territory to Russia to end the fighting, something Kyiv has long opposed.
In a separate interview with ZDF that aired earlier on Saturday, Merz welcomed Washington’s willingness to share responsibility for Ukraine’s security.
“The good news is that America is ready to participate in such security guarantees and is not leaving it to the Europeans alone,” Merz said.
But not all in Berlin shared his measured optimism. In an interview with ARD on Saturday, German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul criticized Trump’s “almost amicable” attitude toward Putin, while stressing that a ceasefire remained essential for progress in peace talks.
France, Germany and Britain will convene a “Coalition of the Willing” meeting on Sunday afternoon, ahead of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s Oval Office visit on Monday.
“We’ll give a few good pieces of advice,” Merz told ZDF.
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