Merz says Berlin hopes Xi will press Putin to end Ukraine war, reaffirms support for Kyiv
At a joint press conference in Berlin with Swiss President Guy Parmelin on May 20, Chancellor Friedrich Merz said Germany does not expect fundamental changes in Russia-China strategic relations but hopes Xi Jinping will use Vladimir Putin's Beijing visit to press for an end to the war in Ukraine. Merz called for serious negotiations involving Ukraine, Russia, the United States and Europeans and reiterated continued German military and humanitarian support for Kyiv. Putin arrived in Beijing on May 19 and signed a declaration with Xi on building a multipolar world order.
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, speaking at a joint press conference in Berlin with Swiss President Guy Parmelin on Wednesday, said he was placing his hopes for movement on Ukraine in Vladimir Putin's visit to Beijing.
"We do not expect fundamental changes in the strategic relations between Russia and China at this time," Merz said. "However, we place hope in this visit that President Xi will influence Putin to bring an end to this war in Ukraine, which he cannot win and which, on the contrary, is accompanied by heavy human losses for Russia." He added that Berlin was watching Putin's Beijing meetings closely alongside the statements that followed earlier Xi–Trump contacts.
Merz said Germany and Switzerland were calling for serious negotiations to end Russia's war against Ukraine, arguing that "durable peace can only be achieved together with Ukraine, Russia, the United States, and Europeans." Until that point is reached, he said, sustained support for Kyiv "remains a top priority" for Berlin. "This includes military equipment and supplies as well as civilian humanitarian aid. Kyiv knows, the Ukrainian government knows, the President of Ukraine knows – they can all rely on Germany and Europe."
Putin arrived in China on May 19 and met Xi in Beijing. The two leaders signed a declaration on the establishment of a multipolar world order and a new type of international relations. The chancellor's comments came one day after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Russia was weighing five scenarios for an attack from Belarus and the Russian border region of Bryansk against Ukraine's Chernihiv–Kyiv front; Merz had previously suggested Ukraine might eventually need to accept territorial concessions as part of any settlement.