Berlin, 15 August 2025 (dpa/MIA) – German Chancellor Friedrich Merz has called on Russian President Vladimir Putin to enter serious negotiations ahead of his meeting with US President Donald Trump in Alaska.

"We expect President Putin to take President Trump's offer of talks seriously and to enter into negotiations with Ukraine without preconditions after the meeting in Alaska," Merz said in a statement released on Friday.

More than three years after Russia's invasion of Ukraine, which violated international law, Moscow now has an opportunity to agree to a ceasefire and end hostilities, the chancellor said.

Trump could take "a significant step toward peace" at the talks, set to take place in Anchorage on Friday.

Merz stressed that Ukraine must take part in any follow-up meeting. "A ceasefire must be agreed there," he said, adding that territorial questions could only be decided with the consent of the Ukrainian side.

The chancellor referred to the idea of a possible territorial exchange floated by Trump and said he would remain in contact with the US president on the matter.

The meeting at an air base near the city of Anchorage is the first between Trump and Putin since Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. Trump hopes to achieve an end to the war, although Putin has so far shown no signs of backing down.

Photo: MIA archive