Germany's new Chancellor Friedrich Merz has said he believes an agreement for a 30-day ceasefire in Ukraine is on the cards and could happen within the next few days, but that "the ball is now exclusively in Moscow’s court".
"We now have a big chance after today, which is celebrated in Russia as Victory Day, for a ceasefire in Ukraine," Merz said, speaking alongside European Parliament President Roberta Metsola on his first trip to Brussels on Friday.
He then reiterated the same belief in a separate press conference with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte at the alliance's headquarters.
"There’s a chance over this weekend that it will come to a 30-day ceasefire in Ukraine,” Merz emphasised.
“Ukraine agrees to it. The US started this and suggested it, the big European states explicitly agreed to it. I can say that this is a good thing for the entire European Union and for NATO," he added.
"After the coming weekend and with the start of next week, we will know if a longer weapons ceasefire will be realised, then creating the space for a dialogue for a lasting peace in Ukraine.”
“This is a very precise and straightforward test case for the seriousness of the willingness of the Russian president to really achieve peace in Ukraine,” Merz concluded.
Ukraine agreed in March to an immediate 30-day ceasefire proposed by US mediators in Saudi Arabia.
"Ukraine expressed readiness to accept the US proposal to enact an immediate, interim 30-day ceasefire, which can be extended by mutual agreement of the parties, and which is subject to acceptance and concurrent implementation by the Russian Federation," the joint US-Ukrainian statement read, released after the talks in Jeddah.
But Russia has resisted agreeing to that deal, instead issuing a list of far-reaching demands it says must be met before it would agree.
That included a ban on Ukraine using the ceasefire to regroup and rearm its forces and on the West suspending arms supplies to Kyiv.
Russia has unilaterally announced two short periods of ceasefire: one over Easter and one covering the 9 May Victory Parade, but both times, the Kremlin violated its own truce and continued air strikes on Ukraine.
Germany is back
Merz said Europe supports US President Donald Trump's ceasefire plan, with both the EU and the US prepared to slap more sanctions on Moscow to pressure it into signing off on a deal.
He also said Brussels and Washington would continue to support Ukraine, increasing what they provide if necessary.
"We call on Russia at last to set out on the path for real peace negotiations," he said during the press conference with Metsola.
"If that doesn't happen, we won't hesitate, together with our European partners and the US, to increase the sanctions pressure."
On a whirlwind debut visit to Brussels on Europe Day, Merz also held talks with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and European Council President António Costa.
