Majority of Germans support Merz talks with Putin, poll shows

A majority of Germans support direct talks between Chancellor Friedrich Merz and Russian President Vladimir Putin to end the war in Ukraine, according to a new poll released Thursday.

The YouGov survey found that 58% of respondents support or strongly support such discussions, while 26% oppose direct contact between the two leaders and favor a harder stance against Moscow.

Support for direct diplomacy was particularly strong among voters from Merz's Christian Democratic Union (CDU) party, with 64% backing potential talks. YouGov conducted the representative poll for the German press agency DPA between Feb. 6 and 9.

Merz has previously expressed reservations about direct engagement with Moscow. Earlier this month, he referenced Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban's visit to Moscow, noting that days after that trip, the result was severe bombardments on Kyiv.

However, Merz also said he wanted to support all talks aimed at ending the war. He said Europeans are ready to talk with Moscow but underlined that US-led talks between Russia and Ukraine remain the primary negotiating track.

"If we can contribute to making these talks more successful, we will do so. But we will not open any parallel channels of communication," the chancellor said.