German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul on Tuesday demanded that Russian President Vladimir Putin agree to a ceasefire as a condition for the planned bilateral meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.
Speaking during a visit to a naval base in Yokosuka, south of Tokyo, Wadephul said that following a constructive meeting at the White House between US President Donald Trump, Zelensky and other European leaders, "someone needs to make a move. And that is President Putin."
The top German diplomat added that a peace agreement would require strong security guarantees for Ukraine. "We and the Americans are ready to provide these," he said. "One thing is also clear: the weapons must finally fall silent."
When asked what such guarantees might look like, he replied: "Together with the United States, we as European partners are ready to provide these security guarantees and ensure that they are effective."
However, Wadephul stressed that Putin must first be willing "to negotiate in a truly substantive manner and, above all, to agree to a ceasefire."
The security guarantees must be robust enough "that Ukraine can rely on being safe and not being attacked again," he said. "Then Ukraine will have to think very carefully about what negotiations it will conduct and what outcome it can accept."
The minister described it as a crucial step that an agreement had been reached with Trump for the United States to take part in providing these security guarantees, calling their involvement a fundamental prerequisite for them to be effective.
