November 23, 2025, 3:50 p.mNovember 23, 2025, 3:50 p.m
Chancellor Friedrich Merz at the G-20 summit in South Africa.Image: keystone
Chancellor Friedrich Merz says he has made a move to bring peace in Ukraine at least one step closer by Thursday. Merz said at the G20 summit in Johannesburg that he had made a proposal “below the comprehensive proposal of these 28 points” from the US peace plan. But he didn’t want to explain this in detail. This will be discussed in Geneva.
It’s about “taking at least a first step on Thursday”. Then a deadline from US President Donald Trump to Ukraine expires. “If all the 28 points listed there are too many for five days, then I would at least like to make an attempt to ensure that there is one point on which an agreement can be reached with Russia, on the Ukrainian side and with the consent of the Americans and with the consent of the Europeans.”
Merz: “Russia did not stick to this agreement”
With regard to the short deadline for a peace solution, Merz expressed skepticism. “Perhaps we can make progress, but I remain skeptical that this will happen in the near future.”
Merz reiterated the call for reliable security guarantees for Ukraine. In a phone call on Friday, he reminded US President Donald Trump of promises Russia had broken as part of the Budapest Memorandum.
At that time, Ukraine was the third largest nuclear power. “They were all dismantled and all returned and all scrapped. And on the other hand, Ukraine has received Russia’s assurances of territorial integrity. And Russia did not stick to this agreement,” said Merz. As was the case then, “Russia cannot be trusted again in 2025,” he said.
No return to G8 summits with Putin
Merz also believes that the return to the G8 with Russia, as envisaged in the US plan to end the Ukraine war, is currently out of the question. “At the moment I cannot see that there is a willingness among the six members of the G7 today who are not America to accept Russia back into this circle,” said the CDU politician in a press conference after the G20 summit in Johannesburg.
He pointed out that a return to the G8 format can only be agreed upon by consensus. French President Emmanuel Macron made similar comments the day before. He said the conditions for Russia to rejoin do not exist.
Russian President Vladimir Putin was kicked out of the then G8 in 2014 after the annexation of Ukrainian Crimea. Since then, his return has been considered unthinkable for Europeans – especially after the invasion of Ukraine in 2022. However, US President Donald Trump sees it differently. He described the exclusion of Russia from the group of states at the last G7 summit as a “big mistake”. The current G7 group consists of the USA, Germany, France, Great Britain, Italy, Canada and Japan. The EU is also involved.
Russia is officially still part of the G20 round of large industrialized and emerging countries. However, Putin last physically attended a summit in 2019. (sda/dpa)