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German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said Ukraine’s path toward European Union membership must remain open regardless of any future peace negotiations with Russia, warning that abandoning the accession perspective would amount to a betrayal of the Ukrainian people, UATV English reports.
Speaking at a press conference in Berlin, Merz rejected suggestions that Ukraine’s EU accession could become linked to negotiations with Moscow, effectively giving Russia a veto over Kyiv’s European future.
“We must keep this European perspective open for Ukraine. Otherwise, we would truly be betraying the Ukrainian people,” Merz said.
Responding to a question about whether future peace talks could affect Ukraine’s EU aspirations, the chancellor replied: “No, that impression is incorrect.”
Merz stressed that Ukraine has the sovereign right to determine its own foreign policy orientation and choose the alliances it wishes to join. While international partners should continue working to end Russia’s war, he said, those efforts must not come at the expense of Ukraine’s European integration.
The German leader also addressed his earlier proposal for an intermediate form of integration before full EU membership, clarifying that President Volodymyr Zelenskyy had not rejected the idea.
“I have spoken with Volodymyr Zelenskyy about this several times. There is no disagreement in substance,” Merz said.
He explained that the term “associate membership” may be unpopular in Ukraine because it recalls the EU Association Agreement offered in 2013. Instead, he suggested creating another form of interim integration that would allow Ukraine to participate closely in EU institutions—without voting rights—while the accession process continues.
Merz said he envisions a similar approach for Moldova and the Western Balkan countries, all of which have been promised eventual EU membership.
“There are two options. Either we abandon this promise and say it cannot be fulfilled—which I believe would be the worst possible decision—or we acknowledge that the process is complex but continue moving forward step by step,” he said.
The chancellor warned that failing to honor the EU’s enlargement commitments would undermine not only the bloc’s credibility but also its geopolitical standing.
“If we lose that trust, we will lose more than our credibility. We will lose these countries, and from a geopolitical perspective that would be the worst thing that could happen to us as Europeans,” Merz said.
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