BERLIN: Russian President Vladimir Putin must accept he has no option to leave the war in Ukraine successfully, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said on Wednesday.
“We want this war to end as quickly as possible,” Merz said in the Bundestag lower house of parliament.
“But an agreement negotiated between great powers without the consent of Ukraine and without the consent of the Europeans will not be the basis for a genuine, sustainable peace in Ukraine,” he added.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Tuesday he was ready to advance a US-backed framework for ending the war with Russia and discuss disputed points with US President Donald Trump in talks he said should include European allies.
“Decisions about European matters can only be made by mutual consent,” Merz said. “Ukraine is not a pawn, but a sovereign actor for its own interests and values.”
The chancellor added that Germany would continue to support the Ukrainian people and would use frozen Russian assets for that purpose.
Germany will increase financial aid to Ukraine to 11.5 billion euros ($13.31 billion) in the 2026 budget, up from 8.5 billion euros previously planned.
Putin cannot leave Ukraine war successfully, German chancellor says
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Putin cannot leave Ukraine war successfully, German chancellor says
- Germany will increase financial aid to Ukraine to $13.31 billion in the 2026 budget
Afghan Taliban says Pakistan bombs Kabul in fresh escalation
KABUL: The Afghan government said on Friday that Pakistan had carried out fresh strikes on Kabul and several other provinces.
Taliban government spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid said in a post on X that Kabul, Kandahar, Paktia, Paktika, and some other areas, were targeted.
Pakistan has killed at least 641 Afghan Taliban operatives and injured more than 855 in the ongoing conflict between the two sides since last month, Information Minister Attaullah Tarar said on Wednesday.
Islamabad has said its airstrikes, which have at times directly targeted the Afghan Taliban government, are aimed at ending Kabul’s support for militants carrying out attacks on Pakistan. The Taliban has denied aiding militant groups.
Fresh clashes between the two neighbors began on Feb. 26 after Afghanistan’s border forces launched attacks against Pakistani military installations. Kabul said the attack was in retaliation for Islamabad’s airstrikes earlier in February. Both forces have since then engaged in the worst fighting between them in decades.
Relations between Pakistan and Afghanistan have remained strained since the Afghan Taliban seized power in August 2021. Pakistan has witnessed a surge in militant attacks across the country in recent months that it blames on militants it alleges are based in Afghanistan. Kabul denies the allegations and insists that its soil is not used by militant groups for attacks against other countries.
While Afghanistan has voiced the desire for dialogue, Pakistan has repeatedly ruled out talks, saying it will continue targeting militant hideouts through “Operation Ghazab lil Haq” until Kabul desists from supporting militants.
