Merz says that Germany will be a guaranteed participant in peace talks on war in Ukraine

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said at the informal EU summit in Dublin that his country will be a "guaranteed" participant in future peace talks aimed at ending Russia's war against Ukraine.

"The first concrete peace talks, at which Europe will be represented, are planned to take place in the coming weeks," Merz said, as quoted by German TV news channel n-tv.

Merz said the talks would probably involve European countries whose representatives took part in the negotiations in Abu Dhabi.

"Germany is a guaranteed participant; that is absolutely clear," he added.

US Special Envoy Steve Witkoff said that the next meeting of the negotiating teams as part of efforts to end the war had been scheduled. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that the US side had managed to secure European involvement in the negotiation process.

Axios reported that the US has asked Russia to submit a new proposal for a future security agreement with Europe, which would include steps by Russia aimed at easing tensions in relations.

The Russian Foreign Ministry has put forward ideas for a new European security architecture, proposing that non-aggression agreements be concluded with NATO member states.