German opposition leader proposes European contact group to unify Ukraine peace strategy
Germany, France, the U.K., and Poland should set up a contact group to coordinate the European bloc’s approach to ending the Russia-Ukraine war, Friedrich Merz, the German conservative opposition leader, said in Kyiv on Dec. 9.
Speaking to President Volodymyr Zelensky, the German politician said that this united vision should be presented to the U.S. leadership. Zelensky voiced his support for the proposal, Ukrinform reported.
The German politician arrived in Ukraine's capital earlier the same day to meet Zelensky and "to learn about the current state of defense in the country."
Merz is the chancellor candidate of Germany’s center-right CDU/CSU alliance for the upcoming snap elections in February 2025. The ruling center-left coalition of Chancellor Olaf Scholz is in tatters and unlikely to preserve its seat at the steering wheel.
The politician emphasized that in the upcoming weeks and months, Europe should have a unified approach to the ending of the war in Ukraine without individual peace plans.
His comments come as Western and European countries try to jockey the momentum that U.S. President-elect Donald Trump's inauguration in January 2025 will bring. Trump promised a quick end to the war, and his plan allegedly includes bringing the two sides to the negotiating table and changing the amount of military aid accordingly.
Zelensky responded to Merz’s initiative by saying that "we have already organized" such a group and adding that Denmark, representing the Nordic countries, would also be part of this forum. The first meeting is scheduled for December.
Martin Fornusek
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