Friedrich Merz has to solve these four knots in Washington

The scandal from the Oval Office is unforgettable. The last meeting of Wolodymyr Selenskyj and Donald Trump in Washington ended in Washington at the end of February with mutual accusations and arguments in front of ongoing cameras. It was a disaster for Ukraine. And a humiliation for their president.

This time, six months later, Selenskyj will not be in the White House alone. CDU Federal Chancellor Friedrich Merz will travel to Washington together with other European state and government heads this Monday. EU Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen is also included. The Europeans want to give the Ukrainian president backing, exploring how just peace can occur.

For that must Merz loosen at least four large knots with his counterparts. First, Washington will be concerned with security guarantees for Ukraine. Second, about possible regional abrasion and thirdly about an orderly course of a peace process, in particular the question of an armistice.

And then there is still, fourth, the memory of what happened in the White House in February. Is a repetition really excluded?

Apparently, after the meeting with Vladimir Putin in Alaska, President Trump signaled to give Ukraine security guarantees in the event of a peace conclusion. So Friedrich Merz said it on Saturday; The US side has now confirmed this. This is considered in Berlin as a progress for the previous position of the Americans.

However, it still seems unclear how exactly these security guarantees can look like. This would probably be the most difficult part of a peace agreement. The question of whether European or American troops would be stationed in Ukraine would only be one of many.

In the room there is a safety clause based on the model of Article five of NATO, but without becoming a member. Article five obliges the members of the alliance to help themselves in the event of an attack. It is discussed whether there can be bilateral protective guarantees, similar to how Japan received from the United States. In addition, the Europeans want to continue to supply Ukraine with weapons and have a strong army. “Dhe Ukraine must become a steel porcupine, indomitable for potential intruders, “emphasized von der Leyen.

The question of security guarantees is also the central weakness of the Europeans: so far there has been no united position, no own plan. The question of possible peace troops is particularly controversial. This question must also be solved soon.

This is one of the most delicate points of the talks: According to the unanimous reports from US media, Trump would also submit the entire Ukrainian Donbas region for a peace agreement Russia support. This region is still fierce by Ukraine, is considered a well -secured fortress in which Russia has failed since the beginning of the war. The task of these areas is said to have been a core claim of Kremlin chief Putin.

For Ukraine, a well -protected area would hardly be negotiable. The Europeans share this attitude. Instead, it could be about a de facto recognition of the status quo, i.e. along the current front line. Peace would not legally transfer the areas to Russia, but possibly recognize the current line -up. The Europeans had agreed on such an option last week on a phone call.

Did Trump really get involved with his game after talking to Putin? Merz has to find out in Washington – and if necessary convince him of the old line again.

Friedrich Merz emphasized after the summit in Alaska: US President Trump had not cleared any of the agreed points at the meeting with the Kremlin chief. “Trump moves within this line that we have discussed with each other,” said the Chancellor at RTL. However, Trump’s cancellation of a quick ceasefire in Berlin Already for worry lines.

It was one of the core demands of the Europeans that the US President had been sent to the US president last week: First the Russian artillery has to be silent, the bombers would have to stay on the ground: Then you can negotiate long-term peace. The fear: everything else could make the Ukrainians blackmailable. Trump, on the other hand, now wants a larger peace agreement.

The American apparently wants to complete a process in a few days that usually takes months. But at what price? The Europeans also want to find out that when talking to Trump. So far there was only a short telephone briefing by the US president after meeting Putin.

Hope in Berlin and other European capitals that US Secretary of State Marco Rubio recently opened the door for an armistice: This is not off the table, said Rubio on Sunday, but a “comprehensive peace agreement” is proceeding. The Ukraine Keep demanding a quick ceasefire. Merz has to mediate.

It is not without reason that the Europeans travel to Washington, to whom a good connection to Trump is said: In addition to Merz, these are the Italian Giorgia Meloni, Finn Alexander Stubb and NATO boss Mark Rutte. Your central task will prevent another scandal between Trump and Selenskyj.

The Europeans want to show Trump that the dictators of this world are not his companions, but that its most important strategic partner is still Europe. Putin had obviously wrote the American in Alaska with the fact that he described the US election lost by Trump in 2020 as “manipulated”. A conspiracy theory that Trump stubbornly spreads. The Europeans will hardly be able to tell him something similar. But in Berlin you are already thinking about the means you can pull Trump on your own side.

The US President has been looking at the Nobel Peace Prize since his first term. It may sound absurd, some people feel ridiculous. But it would also be a ridiculously small price for a fair peace in Ukraine. Perhaps Merz has to use such show effects if he wants to turn the difficult starting point for the positive.

In the end, with everything, as bitter as it may sound, especially one rays: Donald Trump. This is also why you prefer to dampen expectations of the meeting in Berlin.