Merz: Russia "Not Interested" in Serious Talks to End the War

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said on Tuesday that Russia’s response to the recent meeting between the two countries’ foreign ministers demonstrated that Moscow is not prepared to engage in serious negotiations to end the war in Ukraine.

Merz added during a press conference in Berlin, “Russia’s subsequent assessment of this conversation showed that it is not at all interested at this stage in holding serious talks.”

The talks, the first of their kind since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, took place against a backdrop of escalating tensions between Berlin and Moscow in recent weeks, with Germany holding Russia responsible for a drone attack that targeted Leipzig airport. In response, both countries ordered the closure of each other’s consulates.

A German diplomat stated that Lavrov “called on the Russian Federation to abandon its dangerous approach of escalating tensions toward Germany, Europe, and NATO,” emphasizing “Germany’s determination to support Ukraine.”

However, the Russian Foreign Minister, in his speech at the United Nations, accused European countries of seeking to obstruct negotiations aimed at ending the conflict between Moscow and Kyiv, vowing that his country would achieve its objectives in Ukraine.

Earlier on Tuesday, German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius said that Lavrov “mocked negotiation efforts” and that Russia had shown “no real movement, only mockery.”

Merz made these remarks alongside Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, who was visiting Germany. Tokayev is an ally of Moscow but has never supported Russia’s attack on Ukraine.