At the G7 summit in Evian-les-Bains, France, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky jointly informed US President Donald Trump that Ukraine is prepared to enter peace negotiations with Russia. The catch: Kyiv won’t be handing over the Donbas region as the price of admission.
What happened at the G7
Merz confirmed at the summit that he and Zelensky had directly communicated Ukraine’s readiness for peace talks to Trump. The two leaders made clear that Russia’s demand for Ukraine to surrender the Donbas region, the eastern territory that has been at the center of the conflict since 2014, is a non-starter.
Trump described his meeting with Zelensky as “very good” and called for Russia to negotiate a deal.
Zelensky also met with European leaders in London ahead of the G7 to discuss the framework for direct dialogue with Russia, supported by both the US and European allies.
