German chancellor on Russia's negotiating tactic: Moscow is trying to buy time

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz has said that Russia's behaviour in negotiations over the Russo-Ukrainian war indicates the Kremlin's desire to drag out time rather than to reach a real peace agreement.

Merz reiterated at a joint press conference with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Berlin that Ukraine had long expressed its readiness for an unconditional ceasefire.

"Moscow is trying to buy time. We are still waiting for the memorandum on negotiations announced by President Putin a week ago. The large-scale airstrikes over the weekend, particularly on Kyiv, are not the language of peace, but the language of war. This is a slap in the face of everyone working to achieve a ceasefire – of Ukraine, of Europe and of the United States," the chancellor said. [N.B. European Pravda doesn't recognise Putin as president – ed.]

Merz added that under these circumstances, Germany would continue to increase pressure on Russia to weaken its military machine.

Zelenskyy arrived in Berlin on the afternoon of 28 May. This is his first visit since the new German government took office.

Prior to this, he stated that he was ready to meet with Trump and Putin in any format.

On Monday 26 May, Merz stated that weapons supplied by Germany to Ukraine were no longer subject to restrictions on range and, therefore, on use against Russian territory. He said that the United States, the UK, France and Germany lifted restrictions on Ukraine's long-range strikes against Russia several months ago.