BERLIN, February 19. /TASS/. German Chancellor Friedrich Merz says that he doesn’t expect the conflict in Ukraine to be settled soon, believing that hostilities will end only when one or the other party has "exhausted" itself.
"I think this war will end only when one of the two parties is exhausted, either militarily or economically," he said in an interview with Neue Berliner Redaktionsgesellschaft and Rheinpfalz.
According to the German chancellor, resuming normal relations with Russian President Vladimir Putin is "practically impossible."
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said earlier that President Vladimir Putin has never refused from direct contacts and if German Chancellor Friedrich Merz and French President Emmanuel Macron want this, all they have to do is just call.
Trilateral talks on Ukraine involving Russia, the United States, and Ukraine were held in Geneva on February 17 and 18. On the first day, they lasted about six hours, on the second about two. Head of the Russian delegation presidential aide Vladimir Medinsky described the negotiations as difficult, but businesslike. According to him, a new meeting on the Ukrainian settlement will be held soon.
The first round was held in Abu Dhabi on January 23-24, followed by the second round on February 4-5.