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German chancellor nearly disrupted meeting between EU leaders, Trump — newspaper

According to the report, Friedrich Merz publicly stated the need to stop hostilities in Ukraine before a potential meeting between Russian President Vladimir Putin and Vladimir Zelensky

NEW YORK, August 20. /TASS/. German Chancellor Friedrich Merz nearly caused a diplomatic scandal at the meeting between EU leaders, US President Donald Trump, and Vladimir Zelensky, The New York Times reported, citing sources.

According to their information, despite the European leaders' attempts to avoid disagreements with the US president, Merz publicly stated the need to stop hostilities in Ukraine before a potential meeting between Russian President Vladimir Putin and Zelensky. In a private conversation with Trump, the chancellor also insisted on a ceasefire, at least for the duration of the negotiations.

On August 18, Trump received Vladimir Zelensky, French President Emmanuel Macron, UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, Finnish President Alexander Stubb, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, and NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte. It was the first time such a large number of high-level leaders were present at the White House simultaneously. Trump himself noted this unprecedented composition of participants, which testified to the importance of the issue under discussion.

During the meeting, Trump called Russian President Vladimir Putin. They discussed the prospects of a meeting between Putin and Zelensky, followed by trilateral talks, among other things. According to Kremlin aide Yury Ushakov, the leaders of Russia and the US expressed their support for continuing direct consultations between Moscow and Kiev, including raising the level of these consultations.

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Ukraine crisis United States Germany Donald Trump

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