France, Germany back push for Ukraine truce, call for trilateral negotiations

French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz on Monday backed calls for an urgent ceasefire in Ukraine, stressing that future trilateral talks between Washington, Moscow, and Kyiv must produce tangible steps to stop the bloodshed.

Speaking at high-level talks in Washington alongside US President Donald Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, Merz said the credibility of ongoing diplomatic efforts depends on securing at least a ceasefire in the next round of talks.

"We all would like to see a ceasefire (at) the latest from the next meeting on. I can't imagine that the next meeting would take place without a ceasefire. So let's work on that and put pressure on Russia," Merz said, urging that the next session be held in a trilateral (US-Ukraine-Russia) format.

Macron echoed the German chancellor's appeal, describing the call for a truce as "a necessity."
"Everybody around this table is in favor of peace. The idea of a trilateral meeting is very important, because this is the only way to fix it," he said.

The French president added that the talks should eventually expand to a quadrilateral format to address Europe's broader security architecture.

"Your idea to ask for a truce, or at least to stop the killings, is a necessity, and we all support this idea," Macron said, emphasizing that long-term peace will require robust security guarantees for Ukraine and shared commitments from Europe and NATO allies.

At the same White House meeting, Trump suggested that an immediate cease-fire between Ukraine and Russia could be declared.

"All of us would obviously prefer an immediate ceasefire while we work on a lasting peace," Trump said at the table flanked by several European leaders, including Macron and Merz.

"Maybe something like that could happen. As of this moment, it's not happening, but President Zelensky and President (Vladimir) Putin can talk a little bit more about that," he added.