Published by Global Banking & Finance Review®
Posted on May 18, 2025
1 min readLast updated: January 23, 2026
European leaders, led by German Chancellor Merz, aim to speak with Trump before his call with Putin, discussing the plan with US Secretary of State Rubio at the Vatican.
(Reuters) -German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said on Sunday that he, along with the leaders of Britain, France and Poland, aimed to speak with Donald Trump ahead of the U.S. president's planned call with Russia's Vladimir Putin on Monday.
Merz said he had discussed the issue with U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio while the two men were attending the inaugural mass of Pope Leo XIV in the Vatican. Merz said he also spoke at length at the Vatican with Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskiy.
"I spoke with Marco Rubio, including about the call tomorrow. We agreed that we will speak again with the four state leaders and the U.S. president in preparation of this conversation (with Putin)," Merz told reporters.
(Reporting by Victoria Waldersee, Andreas RinkeEditing by Gareth Jones)
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, along with the leaders of Britain, France, and Poland, aims to speak with Donald Trump.
Merz discussed the upcoming call with Putin and the need for a conversation with the four state leaders and the U.S. president.
Merz met Marco Rubio at the inaugural mass of Pope Leo XIV in the Vatican.
The purpose is to prepare for Trump's planned call with Putin.
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