On the fourth anniversary of the start of the Ukraine war, Germany's defense minister on Tuesday accused US President Donald Trump of cozying up to Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Trump welcomed the Russian president "like a buddy" on the red carpet at last August's summit in Alaska and at the same time completely withdrew military support for Ukraine, Boris Pistorius told public broadcaster Deutschlandfunk radio.
Unfortunately, the US president also unnecessarily took Ukraine's NATO membership off the negotiating table very early on, but, he added, "without any need. That would have been a bargaining chip that could have been used to negotiate other things."
Pistorius predicted there would probably be no decision on the battlefield in the foreseeable future. It is very important for the negotiations to maintain support, he said, because the economic situation in Russia is "growing increasingly worse."
The Kremlin must reach a point where war is slowly becoming the worse option compared to peace, he said, adding: "But this cannot be achieved through weakness, only through strength."
Separately, Chancellor Friedrich Merz once again called for European unity.
"For four years, every day and every night has been a nightmare for the Ukrainian people. And not just for them, but for all of us. Because war has returned to Europe," Merz wrote on US social media company X.
"Only with combined strength will we end it. Because Ukraine's fate is our fate," he added.
Merz's comments were echoed by Vice Chancellor Lars Klingbeil, who said: "No one longs for peace more than the Ukrainian people. We remain firmly at Ukraine's side on this path."
Russian President Vladimir Putin should be under no illusion that support could crumble, he said, adding: "It is up to Russia to finally show a serious interest in a just peace."
Putin must end his brutal war of aggression, said Klingbeil.
