The German chancellor said there would be face-to-face talks involving the presidents of Russia and Ukraine. That’s after US President Donald Trump made a phone call to Putin as he met with European leaders

The German chancellor said there would be face-to-face talks involving the presidents of Russia and Ukraine. That’s after US President Donald Trump made a phone call to Putin as he met with European leaders.

US President Donald Trump meets German Chancellor Friedrich Merz and other European leaders amid negotiations to end the Russian war in Ukraine
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said that Putin and Zelenskyy would meet within two weeks after talks aimed at securing peace in Ukraine were held at the White House

Merz made the comments after he, along with other European leaders, met with US President Donald Trump at the White House for talks aimed at ending the war in Ukraine.

The German leader was enthused following the meeting with Trump and Zelenskyy.

“My expectations have not only been met, but exceeded,” Merz said once the talks had wrapped up.

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“The American president spoke with the Russian president on the phone and agreed that there would be a meeting between the Russian president and the Ukrainian president within the next two weeks,” Merz told reporters.

The German chancellor said the location was yet to be determined.

The comments come after President Donald Trump said arrangements were being made for face-to-face talks between Putin and Zelenskyy to discuss ending the war in Ukraine.

Merz did, however, caution that Ukraine should not be forced to surrender the Donbas region to Russia and likened it to the United States ceding Florida.

“The Russian demand that Kyiv give up the free parts of Donbas corresponds, to put it bluntly, to a proposal for the United States to have to give up Florida,” Merz told reporters following the White House talks.