German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said in an interview on Aug. 31 that he expects Russia’s war in Ukraine to last a long time, as most wars end in military defeat or economic collapse — a scenario he does not foresee for Russia or Ukraine.

“I am preparing myself inwardly for this war to last a long time,” Merz told German public broadcaster ZDF.

Merz’s remarks came a day before the expiration of a deadline set by U.S. President Donald Trump for a bilateral meeting between President Volodymyr Zelensky and Russian President Vladimir Putin.

“We will know in within two weeks whether there will be peace in Ukraine. After that we will have to maybe take a different tack,” Trump said on Aug. 21.

Despite months of U.S.-led diplomatic efforts and repeated deadlines from Trump, Russia has shown no signs of relenting. Just a day earlier, Moscow’s top general vowed to continue the war in Ukraine on both the front lines and against Ukrainian cities.

President Volodymyr Zelensky has repeatedly said he is ready to meet Putin and hold peace talks, while the Kremlin has rejected calls for an unconditional ceasefire and increased attacks against Ukrainian civilian targets.

Merz also noted that peace cannot be achieved “at the price of Ukraine’s capitulation,” warning that Russia would simply target another European country.

“The day after tomorrow it will be us,” Merz added. “That is not an option.”

Earlier this week, Merz argued that Germany is “already in conflict with Russia,” citing Moscow’s hybrid operations and sabotage efforts across Europe. He also declined to say whether Germany would consider sending troops to Ukraine as part of future security guarantees — a condition Kyiv has said is critical for peace.

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said on Sunday that he was prepared for the war in Ukraine to last a long time, given that wars usually end in military defeat or economic exhaustion, scenarios that he does not see on the horizon for either Kiev or Moscow.

Merz’s comments come a day before the expiration of a deadline set by US President Donald Trump for a meeting between the presidents of Russia and Ukraine aimed at paving the way for peace talks.

Trump has threatened “consequences” if the meeting does not take place.

Merz and French President Emmanuel Macron have said the blame lies with Russian President Vladimir Putin and have called on the US to impose tougher sanctions on Moscow.

“I am preparing internally for this war to last a long time,” Merz said in an interview with public broadcaster ZDF, Reuters writes, according to Telegraph.

Efforts are being made through intensive diplomatic initiatives to end the war as soon as possible, but this cannot be “at the price of Ukraine’s capitulation,” because Russia would simply target another country, he said.

“And then the day after tomorrow it will be us,” Merz added. “That’s not an option.”

He declined to speak in the interview on the issue of a possible deployment of German troops in Ukraine as part of security guarantees in the event of a peace agreement.

Britain and France are leading a proposal for a “security force” to deter potential future Russian aggression within this context, but the prospect of Germany joining them has caused concern in a country scarred by its Nazi past.

The Kremlin said on Sunday that European powers were obstructing Trump’s peace efforts and that Russia would continue its operation in Ukraine until Moscow saw real signs that Kiev was ready for peace. /Telegraph

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said on Sunday he was braced for the Ukraine war to last a long time given that wars usually end in military defeat or economic exhaustion, scenarios he does not see on the horizon for either Kyiv or Moscow.

Advertisement

Merz’s comments come a day before the expiry of a deadline set by US President Donald Trump for a meeting between the presidents of Russia and Ukraine with a view to paving the way for peace talks. Trump has threatened “consequences” if the meeting does not take place.

Merz and French President Emmanuel Macron have said the fault lies with Russian President Vladimir Putin, and have urged the US to impose tougher sanctions on Moscow.

“I am preparing myself inwardly for this war to last a long time,” Merz said in an interview with public broadcaster ZDF.

Russia says peace talks on Ukraine should happen gradually Russia says peace talks on Ukraine should happen gradually

Efforts are being made through intensive diplomatic initiatives to end the war as quickly as possible, but this cannot be “at the price of Ukraine’s capitulation” because Russia would then simply target another country, he said.

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said he is mentally preparing for a long war in Ukraine. | Pool Photo by Manon Cruz via EPA

“Diplomacy isn’t about flipping a switch overnight and suddenly everything is fine again,” the chancellor said in an interview.

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said he is mentally preparing for a prolonged war in Ukraine but declined to comment on whether Berlin would deploy peacekeeping troops in the event of a ceasefire, News.Az reports citing the Politico.

In a televised interview on Sunday he also said that if he hadn’t decided to alter Germany’s debt rules to allow it to massively invest in defense, the NATO alliance would probably have disintegrated in June.

“I’m mentally preparing myself for the fact that this war could drag on for a long time,” he told ZDF when asked if he was hopeful that a ceasefire could be reached next year. “We’re trying to end it as quickly as possible, but certainly not at the price of Ukraine’s capitulation.”

Last week Merz had expressed skepticism that U.S. President Donald Trump’s ongoing peace push with Russian President Vladimir Putin would yield results.

“I would like the United States of America to work with us to solve this problem for as long as possible,” Merz said. “Diplomacy isn’t about flipping a switch overnight and then everything will be fine again. It’s a lengthy process.”

Asked about security guarantees — intended to protect Ukraine from another Russian attack in case of a peace agreement — Merz said: “The number one priority is supporting the Ukrainian army so that they can defend this country in the long term. That is the absolute priority, and we will begin doing that now.”

When pressed as to whether Germany would be ready to send troops to Ukraine in the event of a ceasefire, Merz stressed that every foreign troop deployment required Bundestag approval. He did not specify what a German deployment could look like or whether he supported such a step.

Despite a huge expansion in military spending, Germany has struggled to recruit and train battle-ready soldiers, with troop levels flatlining at around 182,000 despite significant efforts to grow the force.

During Sunday’s interview Merz defended his coalition’s historic decision to loosen the debt brake on defense spending — made possible by an unexpected U-turn by Merz’s conservatives right after the election — and even went so far as to link it to NATO’s survival.

“We were essentially able to preserve NATO with our decision,” he said.

“I was at the NATO summit in The Hague [June 24-25]. If we hadn’t changed the constitution and we hadn’t been willing to allow the Federal Republic of Germany to spend 3.5 percent on defense plus 1.5 percent on the necessary infrastructure, then NATO would probably have disintegrated that day. We prevented that.”

News.Az

Necessary Cookies

This cookie is used to distinguish between humans and bots. This is beneficial for the web site, in order to make valid reports on the use of their web site.

Functional Cookies

Remembers the user’s selected language version of a website.

Performance/Analytical Cookies

Registers a unique ID that is used to generate statistical data on how the visitor uses the website.Used by Google Analytics to throttle request rate.

Accept Reject

Advertising/Marketing Cookies

This cookie is used to collect information on consumer behavior, which is sent to Alexa Analytics. (Alexa Analytics is an Amazon company.)