"Among other things, further options for pressure on Russia will be considered at the talks," Stefan Kornelius, the official representative of the German government, said
Germany is organizing an online meeting on Ukraine on August 13 ahead of the upcoming August 15 summit between Russia and the United States, Stefan Kornelius, the official representative of the German government, told reporters.
"German Chancellor Friedrich Merz invited to virtual talks on Wednesday, August 13, on the current situation in Ukraine in the light of the planned meeting of the US president [Donald’s] Trump and Russian President [Vladimir] Putin. Among other things, further options for pressure on Russia will be considered at the talks," Kornelius said. "Preparation of possible peace talks and related issues of territorial claims and security will be discussed.
"The heads of state and government of Germany, Finland, France, Great Britain, Italy, Poland, Ukraine, president of the European Commission, president of the Council of the European Union, NATO secretary General as well as president of the United States and his deputy will take part in various rounds of negotiations."
Bild reported that on Wednesday afternoon Merz first intends to hold a telephone conference with the heads of state and government of the leading European NATO countries, as well as with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, Secretary General of the North Atlantic Alliance Mark Rutte and Vladimir Zelensky.
An hour later, it is planned to present the results of the joint consultations to US President Donald Trump and Vice President JD Vance to work out a common transatlantic position 48 hours before the summit between Russia and the United States. The focus of the talks, according to Bild, will be "ways to increase pressure on Russia, the order of Friday’s negotiations, the Ukrainian territories that can be transferred if necessary, and the guarantees to Kiev that will not allow Russia to simply move further west." According to the newspaper, Merz managed to convince Trump to take part in the virtual summit, as they maintain good relations.
Russian Presidential Aide Yury Ushakov said the leaders at the summit will focus on discussing options for achieving a long-term peaceful settlement of the Ukrainian crisis. The Kremlin expects that the next meeting between Putin and Trump will take place on Russian territory, Ushakov said.
