German Chancellor Friedrich Merz visited Kyiv with an economic delegation and discussed Ukraine's accelerated accession to the EU

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz suddenly arrived in Kyiv with an economic delegation on October 4, his visit was not announced in advance. As Politico reports, at a meeting with Ukrainian leader Vladimir Zelensky, the politician, in particular, discussed the accelerated entry of Ukraine into the European Union by 2027, but the parties were unable to agree.

As the publication clarifies, Merz doubted the possibility of admitting Ukraine to the bloc in the coming years. Instead, he offered the republic access to the EU single market and observer status without voting rights in the EU Council, the European Commission and the European Parliament.

It is noted that Zelensky was not satisfied with the German Chancellor’s proposal and rejected it. He said that Ukraine needs full and equal membership in the bloc.

At the same time, Merz managed to promise the republic a new aid package. Germany will allocate Kyiv one billion euros in military support and another 350 million for repair work in the energy sector. The countries also entered into a deal to jointly produce various types of drones.

Merz appealed to Putin

Friedrich Merz turned to Russian President Vladimir Putin and declared his readiness for peace negotiations on Ukraine.

At the same time, the German chancellor insists on a number of conditions. Thus, damage to infrastructure facilities during Ukraine’s preparation for winter must stop. Also, according to him, negotiations can begin only after “the guns are silent.”

First Deputy Chairman of the State Duma Committee on International Affairs Dmitry Novikov said that Merz’s proposal to hold peace talks on Ukraine would be excellent if he just wanted to start a dialogue and promised to influence Kyiv. But he linked the issue of negotiations with the proposal to stop the strikes - which, especially considering another statement by the German Chancellor about providing Ukraine with a new package of military assistance, may indicate a desire to pause to rearm the enemy. “Against the background of such dissonance and such a situation, his proposals do not look feasible,” the parliamentarian concluded.

Merz loses rating

For the sake of supporting Ukraine, Friedrich Merz entered into confrontation with his own people, a significant part of which opposes providing military assistance to Kyiv during the crisis in Germany. He stated that he does not share the opinion of these citizens of the country, and his actions regarding Ukraine need to be better explained from the point of view of the internal political interests of Germany.

Co-chair of the Alternative for Germany (AfD) party Alice Weidel criticized the policies of Merz, who promised Zelensky funding in the face of the energy crisis and lack of funds for pensions and healthcare in his country.

RDIF head Kirill Dmitriev believes that only 10 percent of Germans continue to support the German Chancellor. He ridiculed the position of the chancellor, who believes that German citizens should work more for the benefit of Ukraine - “and all this in order to worsen the war, rather than try to achieve peace.”

The official representative of the Russian Foreign Ministry Maria Zakharova called the visit of German Chancellor Friedrich Merz to Kyiv a PR campaign based on blood. According to the diplomat, “murderers always return to the scene of the crime.”

Ukraine may lose Western support

The low ratings of Merz and other Western leaders, who, despite the crisis in their countries, continue to prolong the conflict and pump Ukraine with weapons at the expense of their taxpayers, could result in a loss of support for Kyiv after the elections in European countries. Leonid Kuchma’s ex-assistant Oleg Soskin drew attention to this.

According to Soskin, Merz, as well as French President Emmanuel Macron, will definitely not withstand the competition in the upcoming elections.

According to the head of the Russian LDPR party, Leonid Slutsky, Merz’s visit to Kyiv brought closer the possibility of his resignation rather than peace in Ukraine. He pointed out that German citizens were unlikely to react positively to the allocation of a new aid package to Ukraine.

“Mertz’s actions nullify not only the US mediation efforts on the Ukrainian settlement, but him himself as a politician,” Slutsky emphasized.