War in Ukraine: Zelensky revives a controversial idea, the leader of the German opposition in kyiv… the latest on the situation

Ce qu'il faut retenir ce lundi soir. MAXPPP – Julien Mattia/Le Pictorium

Tous les jours, Midi Libre fait le point sur la situation en Ukraine. Ce lundi 9 décembre 2024, découvrez les dernières actualités autour de ce conflit.

German opposition leader Friedrich Merz visits Ukraine

The chairman of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) group in the Bundestag and leader of the German conservative opposition, Friedrich Merz, arrived in kyiv on Monday to reaffirm his support for the Ukrainian leadership in the war with Russia.

“We want this terrible war to end as soon as possible and for peace to be restored in Europe,”, Friedrich Merz said upon his arrival in the capital, adding that he wanted to assure the Ukrainian leadership of the support of the German conservative bloc.

Germany is the second largest provider of financial and military aid to Ukraine after the United States.

Unlike Chancellor Olaf Scholz, Friedrich Merz believes that Germany should provide Ukraine with long-range Taurus cruise missiles, long demanded by kyiv, if the Kremlin does not stop bombing civilian infrastructure.

“Only if Ukraine is strong will Putin be ready to enter into negotiations,”, Friedrich Merz said. “If our support for Ukraine weakens, this war will last longer. If our support for Ukraine is constant, the war will end more quickly.”

The war in Ukraine has become a major issue in the early election campaign since the collapse of Germany's ruling coalition.

The election, along with Donald Trump's return to the White House, has heightened uncertainty in Ukraine, where Russian troops are advancing more rapidly in the east of the country.

Merz's long-planned visit comes a week after the chancellor made a surprise trip to Ukraine, his first in two years.

Zelensky says he wants to discuss NATO membership with Biden

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Monday he plans to call incumbent US President Joe Biden in the coming days to discuss kyiv's request to join NATO.

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Speaking at a press conference alongside visiting German conservative leader Friedrich Merz, Zelensky said the issue should be discussed with the current White House occupant since President-elect Donald Trump will not take office until January 20.

“I intend to call President Biden soon to discuss the issue of an invitation to join NATO,”, he told reporters through an interpreter. “He is the sitting president and a lot depends on his opinion. Discussing it with Trump before he takes office doesn't make much sense,”, he added.

Last month, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andriy Sybiha wrote to his NATO counterparts urging them to invite Kyiv to join the alliance, a first step toward formal membership.

The NATO treaty states that the alliance is open to membership by any “European state that can further the principles of this Treaty and contribute to the security of the North Atlantic region.”

“Interested” states, such as Ukraine, must express their willingness to join and expect in return an invitation that must be accepted unanimously by NATO members. If unanimity is achieved, accession negotiations can begin.

Zelensky revives the idea of ​​deploying European troops

Volodymyr Zelensky on Monday revived the controversial idea, put forward in February by Emmanuel Macron, of deploying European troops on Ukrainian territory, pending the country's integration into NATO ranks.

“We can think and work on Emmanuel's position. He suggested that troops from one country be present on the territory of Ukraine, which would guarantee us security as long as Ukraine is not in NATO,”, the Ukrainian president said at a joint press conference with conservative Friedrich Merz, the leader of the German opposition who came to kyiv.

“But we must have a clear assessment of when Ukraine will be in the European Union and when Ukraine will be in NATO”, he stressed.

A spokesman for the Ukrainian presidency later said that kyiv intended to hold a summit in December with its main European allies to coordinate a common position.

The meeting, whose list of participants is still being drawn up, will also aim to ensure that Ukraine is in a strong position for possible negotiations and on the battlefield, he said.

Following an international conference in support of Ukraine in Paris in February, French President Emmanuel Macron said that sending Western ground troops to Ukraine should not be “excluded” in the future, conceding that there was no “consensus” on the matter. stadium.

His statements had provoked strong reactions from allies, notably the United States, the United Kingdom and Germany, which had hammered home that there would be “no ground troops, no soldiers sent either by European states or by NATO states to Ukrainian territory”.

Volodymyr Zelensky spoke with Emmanuel Macron and Donald Trump over the weekend in Paris on the sidelines of the reopening ceremonies of Notre-Dame Cathedral. “If we had an invitation, without being in NATO, there would be a pause, so who would guarantee our security?”, the Ukrainian president wondered.
He specified that nearly 800,000 Russian soldiers were currently deployed in Ukraine, according to the Interfax-Ukraine agency.