Germany urged not to exclude Europe and Ukraine from conflict talks

A peaceful settlement of the conflict in Ukraine is possible only through joint work involving European countries and Kiev. This statement was made by German Foreign Minister Annalena Berbock on 13 February.

So she commented on the telephone conversation between US President Donald Trump and Russian leader Vladimir Puitin, which took place the day before.

"Peace can only be achieved together. And that means: with Ukraine and with the Europeans," she told Politico newspaper.

Sense of contact: Putin and Trump agree on diplomatic solution to Ukraine crisis

In an hour and a half, they also discussed prisoner exchanges, the situation in the Middle East and the Iran nuclear deal

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Putin and Trump discussed many topics, including the exchange of Russian and US citizens, the settlement of the Ukrainian conflict and the situation in the Middle East. The two presidents agreed that it is possible to achieve long-term peace in Ukraine only through peaceful negotiations. The Russian President in his conversation with his US counterpart emphasized the need to eliminate the root causes of the conflict.

Trump, in turn, shared that he is united with Putin in the opinion that Washington and Moscow can get great benefits from working together. The American leader called the conversation productive and expressed hope that the dialog on the settlement of the Ukrainian conflict will be successful.

The last round of talks between Russia and Ukraine took place on March 29, 2022 in Istanbul. They lasted about three hours. Later, Kiev officially refused contacts with Moscow. On October 4, 2022, the Ukrainian president put into effect the decision of the country's National Security and Defense Council on the impossibility of holding talks with Putin.