FT reported on Merz's attempts to settle the conflict between Macron and Meloni over Ukraine

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz is making efforts to resolve the conflict between Italian Prime Minister Giorgi Meloni and French President Emmanuel Macron over Ukraine. This was reported on May 18 by the British newspaper Financial Times (FT).

"German Chancellor Friedrich Merz has tried to resolve the bitter diplomatic dispute between Rome and Paris over the exclusion of Italian Prime Minister Giorgi Meloni from the group of European leaders coordinating with the White House on Ukraine," the article says.

According to the newspaper, Meloni attended the summit of the European Political Community in Albania, which was attended by 40 EU leaders. However, she did not join Merz, Macron, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer and Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk at a separate meeting where the leaders discussed the outcome of peace talks between Russia and Ukraine in Istanbul.

Subsequently, Meloni told Italian journalists that she was not invited to the discussion because of Italy's refusal to send troops to Ukraine after the possible conclusion of a peace agreement within the framework of the so-called "coalition of the willing." However, according to Macron, the issue of deploying troops was not discussed.

"We are talking about a ceasefire — let's avoid spreading false information," the French president said.

According to FT, Merz met with Meloni before the enthronement of Pope Leo XIV in the Vatican and "tried to ease the tension." Both leaders agreed that Italy "must play a role" in all European peace initiatives on Ukraine.

"In the coming days, I will hold talks in the European Union to involve Italy in all our efforts to resolve this conflict," Merz said at a press conference in Rome.

Step at the meeting: the results of the first negotiations between Russia and Ukraine in three years

The first round of contacts took place in Istanbul — what's next

On May 16, the delegations of Russia and Ukraine at the talks in Istanbul agreed to present their vision of a cease-fire and to exchange prisoners of war in the "1000 by 1000" format.

The meeting was organized at Dolmabahce Palace. The Russian Federation was represented by a delegation consisting of Vladimir Medinsky, Assistant to the President of the Russian Federation, Mikhail Galuzin, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs, Igor Kostyukov, Head of the Main Intelligence Directorate of the General Staff of the Russian Armed Forces, and Alexander Fomin, Deputy Minister of Defense.

After the Russian-Ukrainian meeting, President of Ukraine Vladimir Zelensky, Merz, Macron, Starmer and Tusk called the American leader Donald Trump at the summit in Albania.