BERLIN, June 24. /TASS/. German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said that the time for negotiations with Russia on resolving the conflict in Ukraine will still come despite the fact that, recently, he has made repeated statements that such a moment has already arrived.
At a press conference following a meeting of the E5 leaders (Great Britain, Germany, Italy, Poland, and France) in Berlin, Merz spoke of the intention of NATO partners at the upcoming alliance summit in Ankara to "send a strong signal of support for Ukraine." "The German government proposes that we, the European NATO allies, provide Kiev with serious funding commitments," the Chancellor said. According to him, EU support for Ukraine will not weaken. "We hope that Moscow will draw conclusions from this. The time will come to enter peace negotiations," Merz claimed.
Moscow has repeatedly stated its readiness for negotiations on Ukraine but emphasized that it will not tolerate ultimatums. At the EU summit on June 18-19, the EU countries did not agree on either a candidate for a negotiator with Russia or the content of possible negotiations. Having failed this discussion at the summit, they declared that the time for negotiations had not come and that the European Union would never be a mediator but would only act on Ukraine's side.