Merkel urged to wait for the right moment for Ukraine talks
Ukraine needs to wait for the right moment to start peace talks with Russia. Former German Chancellor Angela Merkel said this in an interview with the ZDF TV channel on 28 November.
The former head of the German government noted that Ukraine should combine military and diplomatic ways to resolve the conflict.
"Only for now it is not necessary to unpack them (peace talks. - Ed.) now. When the time comes, everyone will need to consult together - Ukraine and its allies," Merkel said.
She added that she agreed with incumbent German Chancellor Olaf Scholz's support for Kiev. The ex-politician at the same time noted that Ukraine will be hard to defeat Russia on the battlefield.
Earlier in the day, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said that long-term peace in Ukraine would be achieved only after all the conditions for ensuring the security of the Russian Federation are realized. The minister recalled that Moscow continues to prefer peaceful, political and diplomatic ways of settling the conflict.
On November 28, Russian President Vladimir Putin said during a press conference on the results of his state visit to Kazakhstan that Russia was ready for negotiations on Ukraine on the previous terms. The head of state drew attention to the fact that there are no preconditions for the start of dialog now, but there are conditions for peace. The Russian leader added that the Russian Federation's desire for a diplomatic settlement had not changed even after the country had new weapons.
The last round of talks between Russia and Ukraine took place in Istanbul on March 29, 2022. They lasted about three hours. Later, Kiev officially refused contacts with Moscow. On October 4 of the same year, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, whose powers expired in May 2024, enforced the decision of the country's National Security and Defense Council on the impossibility of holding talks with Putin.
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