Germany stated that Putin's participation in the G20 summit could initiate negotiations on ending the war in Ukraine
Kyiv • UNN
Minister Johann Wadephul considers Putin's participation in the G20 summit an opportunity to begin serious negotiations regarding the war in Ukraine. He emphasized the need for a ceasefire.
German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul said on Friday that Russian President Vladimir Putin’s participation in the G20 meeting could mark the beginning of "serious negotiations" on ending Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Politico reports, UNN writes.
Details
U.S. President Donald Trump invited the Russian president to the next G20 summit, scheduled for December in Miami.
Many leaders, including Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni and EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs Kaja Kallas, expressed serious reservations about the invitation.
However, Wadephul expressed a more optimistic position during a press conference with his Canadian counterpart in Ottawa.
This will indeed be a litmus test, including for Vladimir Putin, regarding his readiness to negotiate. Therefore, such opportunities must be used. We have repeatedly called on the Russian government and Putin to sit down at the negotiating table. And if such an opportunity arises, then perhaps this will at least become the beginning of serious negotiations
At the same time, he added that a necessary condition for meaningful dialogue should be a ceasefire for the duration of the negotiations.
Canadian Foreign Minister Anita Anand said she was surprised by Trump’s invitation to Putin, but added that Canada would participate in the summit nonetheless, since that, in her words, is "true diplomacy."
Wadephul’s statements differed from the official position of his government. Chancellor Friedrich Merz’s spokesman, Stefan Kornelius, said earlier this week that "the German government does not view relations with Russia as normal" and that Berlin was coordinating a joint response with its partners.
The German Foreign Ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
As the publication notes, the White House invitation was the latest U.S. attempt to bring Moscow back into the international diplomatic arena and could lead to Putin’s first in-person participation in a G20 summit since 2019.