BERLIN, February 24. /TASS/. Friedrich Merz, the German chancellor candidate from the CDU/CSU bloc, said that any potential US attempt to strike a deal on Ukraine with Russia, bypassing Kiev and the EU, would be unacceptable.
"We are certainly observing with great alarm this attempt to strike a deal with Russia on Ukraine behind the backs of the Europeans and Ukraine," he said at a news conference in Berlin. "It will come as no surprise to you that I will say this is unacceptable, both for Ukraine and for Europe," Merz added.
On February 18, high-level delegations from Russia and the United States held talks in Riyadh on international security, bilateral relations, and resolving the conflict in Ukraine. Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, presidential aide Yury Ushakov and Direct Investment Fund Chairman Kirill Dmitriyev represented Russia at the meeting, which took 4.5 hours. The US delegation included Secretary of State Marco Rubio, National Security Adviser Mike Waltz, and Special Envoy Steven Witkoff.