German Chancellor Friedrich Merz once again made his position on the topic of negotiations with Russia clear: it is possible to talk, but it should not be "just talk." In his opinion, it is difficult to seriously discuss a peace plan if Moscow does not first demonstrate its readiness to cease fire in practice.
The Chancellor's main idea is this: all means must be used to force Russia to cease fire and then to sign a real peace agreement - by military, economic, political and diplomatic means.
"We are getting closer, but we are not there yet"
Merz also explained in a strict and realistic way the point at which the war can end: the war will end only when Russia is at least economically, and possibly militarily, exhausted. The German leader emphasized that “we are getting closer to this point, we have done a lot, but we are not there yet.”
Here he makes one thing clear: “Russia must stop the war” is not a call, but a position close to a demand. And the task of Europe and the allies is to bring it to a point where the Kremlin has no interest in continuing the war.
There is a readiness for negotiations, there is a condition
The Chancellor says that “if there is meaning to talk, we are ready to talk.” But he makes it clear what he means by “meaning”: Russia must recognize that it is indeed ready to cease fire and then talk about a peace plan.
At this point, a common logical line is also visible with Merz’s previous statement: he said that the EU is ready for dialogue with Russia, but does not want to open “parallel channels” — that is, he is against a scenario where the various parties would agree “on their own” separately.
A psychological signal that the war will last “a lot longer”
Merz emphasizes that this war is lasting longer than World War II and describes this scenario as “terrible.” There is also a psychological background to his statements: the European security architecture is not in “normal mode”, which means that decisions cannot be as soft as usual.
What can happen now?
One conclusion can be drawn from Merz’s position: when it comes to “peace”, Germany sees not a quick, beautiful agreement on paper, but a scenario that will lead to a real ceasefire through a combination of pressure + diplomacy.
The main intrigue in the coming months will be: to what extent will the pressure increase and who will be able to bring Russia to a ceasefire point and when? For now, Merz’s statement that “we are getting closer, but we are not there yet” is the most honest diagram of the situation.
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