Russia is not yet ready for serious negotiations, so at this stage Germany sees no point in opening a direct channel of communication between the EU and Moscow.
‘This war will only end when Russia is exhausted, at least economically, and possibly militarily. We are approaching that point, but we have not yet reached it,’ he said, responding to a question about the advisability of establishing a direct European channel of communication with the Kremlin.
French President Emmanuel Macron supported the idea, but Merz was sceptical. According to him, Europe is in close coordination with those who are negotiating with the Russian side – the United States and Ukraine. ‘There is good coordination, and there is nothing that is not discussed in advance with both sides,’ the chancellor stressed.
He also recalled Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán’s visit to Moscow in 2024, calling it an ‘unfortunate precedent’: ‘There was one prime minister from the EU who went to Moscow on his own almost two years ago. He had no mandate and achieved nothing. And the following week, we saw the most powerful strikes on civilian infrastructure, private homes and hospitals that had ever been seen before.’
