"No signs that war in Ukraine will end soon" - German Chancellor

By Dmytro Hubenko, BERLIN Germany

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz on Wednesday dampened expectations of a quick end to the war in Ukraine.

"There are currently no signs that this war will end quickly," Merz said in Berlin. However, when mentioning diplomatic efforts to end the war, he referred to the potential mediation of the pope as "the last earthly authority."

Merz said one could only hope that it would at least be possible to bring the conflicting parties together for a constructive discussion in the Vatican. The chancellor also emphasized the importance of Germany playing an "active, supportive, strong" role in the peace efforts.

Merz's remarks follow Monday's telephone conversation between US President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin.

After the call, Trump wrote that Russia and Ukraine would "immediately start negotiations toward a ceasefire and, more importantly, an end to the war." He also mentioned that the Vatican said it would be very interested in hosting the negotiations.

Trump reiterated his warning that he could abandon the process to seek a ceasefire if there is no progress in the talks. "This is not my war," he told reporters.

On Tuesday, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni announced that Pope Leo XIV had confirmed the Vatican's willingness to host peace talks between the two sides. The Vatican has not issued a public statement on the matter.

Meanwhile, German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius said Trump misjudged his influence on Putin.

"I suspect he assessed his negotiating position incorrectly," Pistorius told the Deutschlandfunk public radio broadcaster, referring to Trump's apparently abandoned efforts to pressure Putin into accepting an unconditional 30-day ceasefire.

"Nothing is really happening. It's all new places, new timelines — and it just means Vladimir Putin can continue his attacks on Ukraine. But there is no peace in sight," Pistorius said.

Since the phone call between the Russian and US presidents yielded no progress in the Ukraine peace talks, Europe was prompted to announce new sanctions on Russia.

Pistorius urged further action to cut off Russia's financial lifelines.

"The goal must be to curb the considerable flow of money into Russia's state coffers, which helps finance the war," he said.

The German defense minister argued that only by doing so can the West effectively degrade Russia's ability to sustain its war in Ukraine, citing revenues from Russian oil and gas exports as an example.

Pistorius also stressed the need to bolster Ukraine's rearmament efforts, noting that the country has production capacity in its arms industry but lacks the funding to utilize it fully.

"We will step in together and fill these capacity gaps," Pistorius said.