Merz stated that the German government was not involved in secret negotiations with the Russians in Baku
German Federal Chancellor Friedrich Merz stated during a joint press conference with Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev in Berlin that he knew nothing about an unofficial meeting between former German politicians and Russian officials in Baku. The head of the German government emphasized that the German government had no connection whatsoever to these talks.
Commenting on journalistic investigations into unofficial channels of communication with Moscow, the chancellor declined to offer a specific assessment. Instead, Merz emphasized that Germany, Ukraine, and European partners have been doing everything possible for many months now to persuade Vladimir Putin to engage in diplomatic dialogue, but the Kremlin leader has persistently rejected any proposals for negotiations.
The chancellor stressed that full responsibility for the continuation of the war and the blocking of the peace process lies solely with the Russian leadership. According to him, it is up to the Russian president to end the aggression and begin genuine negotiations. Since Putin rejects peace initiatives, Germany, in close coordination with its European allies, will continue to provide Ukraine with all necessary assistance in its struggle for survival.
According to investigations by The Times, Die Zeit, and the ARD magazine Kontraste, the unofficial group includes the former head of the Federal Chancellor’s Office, Ronald Pofalla, former Brandenburg Prime Minister Matthias Platzeck, and, on the Russian side, Gazprom Board Chairman Viktor Zubkov and Valery Fadeev, chairman of the Presidential Council on Human Rights. The participants in the talks position their format as a private continuation of the “St. Petersburg Dialogue,” which was officially discontinued in 2021. Previously, Bundestag member Ralf Stegner’s participation in similar meetings sparked a wave of criticism due to his access to classified information from German intelligence agencies.
Source: Ukrinform.
Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev also confirmed that this secret meeting took place on July 12–14, noting that the country’s territory was used without the knowledge of the official authorities in Baku. At the same time, Aliyev added that if such contacts were intended to help end the war, then such an initiative can only be welcomed.
Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev stated that he considers his country’s time as part of the Russian Empire and the USSR to have been a colonial period. According to him, Azerbaijan did not have true independence at that time, but after the collapse of the Soviet Union, it was able to prove that it could develop on its own. Aliyev also reiterated his support for Ukraine’s territorial integrity.
