Merz hopes Russia "still has some humanity and will leave people in peace at Christmas"

Germany's Chancellor Friedrich Merz has suggested that Russia consider a Christmas truce.

Source: Merz during a press briefing with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on 15 December, as reported by European Pravda

Details: Merz said that the Europeans, Americans and Ukrainians have drawn up a number of proposals in recent days, and these will be conveyed to the Russian side.

Quote: "The ball is now in Russia's court. I don't know whether it will be possible to achieve this by Christmas or whether they will make good use of the time.

We will do everything we can to continue to appeal to the Russians and the Russian government in order to stop the fighting, at least over the Christmas period. Because in recent weeks and months, the war has primarily been killing civilians and destroying kindergartens and schools. This is terror against the civilian population in Ukraine.

And perhaps the Russian government still has some remnants of humanity left and can leave people in peace for a few days, at least over Christmas."

Details: Merz suggested that if such a truce were to take place, it could be the beginning of constructive and pragmatic negotiations leading to a lasting peace in Ukraine.

Background:

• In December 2024, Hungary's Prime Minister Viktor Orbán claimed he had suggested a Christmas truce and a large-scale prisoner exchange to Ukraine, but that Zelenskyy had apparently rejected the idea.
• Hungarian Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó said that Kyiv had refused a phone call between Orbán and Zelenskyy regarding the Hungarian "truce" proposal and said he was outraged that almost no one in the EU supported the "Christmas truce".
• In a speech at his annual end-of-year press conference, Russian ruler Vladimir Putin confirmed that Orbán had suggested a "Christmas truce" of several days and a prisoner swap. The Kremlin leader had replied that he "had to think about it".

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