Ending Ukraine crisis requires consent of Ukraine, Europe: German Chancellor Merz

Berlin: German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said that ending the crisis in Ukraine requires the consent of both Ukraine and its European partners, rather than major powers.

Speaking at a press conference on Saturday, during the G20 Summit in Johannesburg, Merz said that the conflict unfolding on the European continent and its outcome concerns the security of Europe as a whole, Xinhua news agency reported.

“Wars cannot be ended by great powers over the heads of the countries involved,” Merz said, adding that the end of this crisis can “only occur with Ukraine’s unconditional consent.”

Merz said that foreign policy advisors from Germany, France, Britain, and representatives from the EU are scheduled to hold further consultations with US and Ukrainian representatives on Sunday in Geneva.

Merz noted that reliable security guarantees must be established for Ukraine.

While acknowledging there is currently a chance to end the conflict, Merz cautioned that the parties remain far from a common, satisfactory result.

Meanwhile, delegations from Ukraine and the United States will hold consultations in Switzerland in the coming days on the possible parameters of a future peace agreement with Russia, Rustem Umerov, secretary of Ukraine’s National Security and Defence Council, said.

“This is another stage of the dialogue that has been ongoing in recent days and is primarily aimed at aligning our vision for the next steps,” Umerov wrote on Facebook.

He stressed that Ukraine is approaching the peace process “with a clear understanding of its interests,” Xinhua news agency reported.

IANS