Chancellor Merz interrupted his vacation for urgent talks with Trump and Zelenskyy

Chancellor Merz interrupted his vacation for urgent talks with Trump and Zelenskyy

Friedrich Merz, who became Chancellor of Germany just a hundred days ago, is still living in a mode of constant crises. However, he found time for a brief respite at the Bavarian resort of Tegernsee. On Friday morning, Merz, together with his friend and colleague, Culture Minister Wolfram Weimer, attended a service at the historic Maria Hilf chapel.

I will say this: the service helps me personally a lot to cope with such crisis times. Even if I have to be back on the phone in the evening, these two hours are important to clear my head
— the Chancellor admitted.

However, the break was short-lived. The very next day, on Saturday at 7:35 a.m., the Chancellor’s secure phone rang. Merz joined a joint conversation with U.S. President Donald Trump and Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelenskyy. The main topic was preparations for Trump’s meeting with Vladimir Putin.

According to BILD, prior to this, Trump had spoken with Zelenskyy one-on-one for about an hour. During the conversation, the American president for the first time allowed the possibility of providing Ukraine with security guarantees, but categorically ruled out its accession to NATO.

After the conversation ended, Merz immediately convened an emergency cabinet meeting in a video conference format. At 10:30, the ministers will join the Chancellor to discuss the outcomes of the overnight talks.