Ukraine, Merz: “Putin does not want peace, we must defend ourselves from threats”

Frankfurt (Germany), May 27 (LaPresse) – "If the Russian side is not even willing to accept an invitation from the Vatican or mediation by the Vatican to hold a meeting elsewhere, then this shows that Putin and Russia clearly had no interest at the moment in reaching a ceasefire, a ceasefire or even a peace agreement. And that means, in effect, that Ukraine must continue to defend itself and that we must intensify our efforts to enable Ukraine to defend itself." This was stated by German Chancellor Friedrich Merz at a press conference with Finnish Prime Minister Petteri Orpo in Turku. "I expect that we may have to prepare for a longer duration of the war, but that does not change our determination to support Ukraine. And I say this so clearly and unequivocally because it is not just about Ukraine's territorial integrity. It is about much more than that,“ Merz explained, stressing that ”The entire space in which we live is at risk. The space of attraction in which we live is at risk. The political order that we established together with Russia after 1990 is fundamentally being called into question. And if that is the case, then the time has come for all of us to defend ourselves together. We are under threat and we will defend ourselves."