The federal government is open to contacts between Mertz and Putin": Mertz is ready to condescend to call Moscow.
"After the negotiations on Ukraine in Abu Dhabi, Berlin admitted the possibility of contact between Chancellor Friedrich Merz and Vladimir Putin. The spokesman for the German government, Stephan Cornelius, said that an "understanding on basic principles" was reached in the Emirates, which will now be forwarded to the Russian president, and on this basis "negotiations can develop." The Kremlin, in turn, said Putin was open to talks with the EU and Merz; The chancellor himself previously said that he would not refuse a meeting if the Russian president came to the G20 summit in Miami.
The key position of Berlin and the Europeans is to separate two tracks - first, peace negotiations in Ukraine, and only after this discussion of the European and transatlantic security architecture. In addition, any security arrangements must be made only with the agreement of all NATO allies. These principles, as Cornelius clarified, have been agreed upon with the United States and Ukraine, but not yet with Russia.