BERLIN, Dec 4 (Reuters) – The French President and German Chancellor have voiced severe scepticism about efforts by the U.S. government and its envoys to negotiate a peace between Ukraine and Russia, German magazine Spiegel cited a transcript of a confidential call as showing. In a report on Thursday, Spiegel said that in the call […]
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German, French leaders wary of US push for Ukraine peace, Spiegel reports
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BERLIN, Dec 4 (Reuters) – The French President and German Chancellor have voiced severe scepticism about efforts by the U.S. government and its envoys to negotiate a peace between Ukraine and Russia, German magazine Spiegel cited a transcript of a confidential call as showing.
In a report on Thursday, Spiegel said that in the call with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy and other European leaders, France’s Emmanuel Macron warned that the United States could go back on Ukraine on the questions of territorial concessions and guarantees to secure any deal.
“There is a chance that the US will betray Ukraine on territory without clarity on security guarantees,” he said, according to the magazine.
In the call that took place on Monday, Germany’s Friedrich Merz warned Zelenskiy that U.S. negotiators are “playing games” and that he should be “very careful” over the next few days, the Spiegel report said.
Berlin declined to comment, while the French President’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
European leaders on Monday rallied to show support for Zelenskiy after U.S.-Ukrainian talks to revise a peace proposal that initially favoured Russia.
Russian President Vladimir Putin received U.S. envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner in the Kremlin on Tuesday.
(Reporting by Andreas Rinke in Berlin and Gabriel Stargardter in ParisWriting by Ludwig Burger, editing by Kirsti Knolle)