President Volodymyr Zelensky and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz held a joint press conference in Berlin on Monday, as US President Donald Trump’s administration ramps up the pressure on Ukraine to reach a peace deal with Russia.
Earlier on Monday, Zelensky met with German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier, visited the Bundestag, Germany’s legislature, and attended the German-Ukrainian Economic Forum alongside Merz.
Speaking at the evening press conference, Merz praised proposed US security guarantees for Ukraine as an “important step forward.”
Also on Monday, US officials told reporters that the US has committed to providing “Article 5-like” security guarantees for Ukraine should an agreement to end active hostilities be reached.
“We now have the chance for a real peace process,” Merz said.
Zelensky concurred: “We have progress there. I have seen the details from the military that they have been working on, and they look very good, even though it is only the first draft.”
In this sense, his view apparently diverges from that of US officials, who previously said the documents dealing with security guarantees were “basically agreed to at the working level.”
Although Zelensky and Ukraine’s European allies have made a point of praising Trump’s efforts to end Russia’s full-scale war in Ukraine, this latest iteration of the US-drafted peace plan still contains a key sticking point.
When it first leaked to the press, it required Ukraine to cede territory, which Russia has so far failed to seize on the battlefield – as, apparently, does the version currently under discussion.
Ukraine’s government is resisting on this point, which it views as tantamount to capitulating to Russia. According to Reuters, the majority of the Ukrainian public agrees.
“There has been sufficient dialogue on the territory, and I think that, frankly speaking, we still have different positions, but I believe that my colleagues have heard my personal position,” Zelensky told Monday’s press conference.
European leaders will join Zelensky and Merz in Berlin for a summit on Monday evening. Trump’s special envoy, Steve Witkoff, and Trump’s son-in-law, Jared Kushner, will join the meeting, Merz said.