UPDATE - German Chancellor Merz thanks Trump for Russia-Ukraine mediation efforts

By Anadolu staff

BERLIN/ ISTANBUL (AA) - German Chancellor Friedrich Merz publicly thanked US President Donald Trump for his mediation efforts between Ukraine and Russia following his Thursday phone call with Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Ukraine’s president.

"I spoke with President Zelenskyy about the (Wednesday) meeting between US Special Envoy (Steve) Witkoff and (Russian President Vladimir) Putin," Merz wrote on X. "We are both grateful to the American president for his mediation efforts and are in close contact with the United States and our European partners."

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen also announced on X that she spoke with Zelenskyy regarding the latest developments.

"We discussed the next steps on the way towards a negotiated peace agreement and Ukraine’s future membership in the European Union as well as its reconstruction," she explained, reiterating Europe's "clear" position, "fully" supporting Ukraine to guarantee a just and lasting peace.

The call followed Witkoff's visit to Moscow, where he met with Putin for approximately three hours. Following the meeting, both sides said Trump and Putin will meet "in the coming days" to discuss the war in Ukraine.

German government spokesman Stefan Kornelius said that during the phone call between Merz and Zelenskyy, the leaders thoroughly discussed recent diplomatic developments.

“Both leaders praised the mediation efforts of the US president and agreed that Russia must end its war of aggression, which violates international law,” the spokesman said. “They agreed to maintain close contact with European partners and the US. The German chancellor assured the Ukrainian president of his continued support,” he added.