Chancellor of the Federal Republic of Germany Friedrich Merz has announced an increase in financial and military support for Ukraine by the G7 countries and a strengthening of sanctions pressure on Russia in order to persuade the Russian side to enter peace negotiations.
"For the first time since President Trump took office, we have published a joint declaration at the G7 summit and found common ground on the main foreign and security policy issues of our time. This is a success. Our statement contains a clear message: support for Ukraine by this group is stronger than ever before. All G7 partners will increase their military and financial contribution to Ukraine. The message for Russia is equally clear: all G7 partners will increase pressure on Moscow, in particular through sanctions," Merz said at a press conference on the sidelines of the G7 summit in Evian-les-Bains (France) on Wednesday.
According to him, this sets a new tone in transatlantic unity and "could bring us closer to a decisive step towards peace negotiations."
"We have been systematically working on this over the past few weeks. In London, I coordinated and carefully prepared our positions together with Volodymyr Zelenskyy. Our diplomatic advisors also coordinated actions with the US and our other European partners, especially Italy and Poland, who participated in our consultations and discussions throughout the process. This was successful because we seized this opportunity," Merz said.
