Ukraine will need strong army after any peace deal – Merz
Ukraine will need strong Armed Forces and security guarantees after any peace agreement with Russia.
As reported by Censor.NET with reference to Reuters, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz stated this.
Merz stressed that Kyiv must not be forced to give up territory to Russia.
The chancellor noted that the guarantees are being discussed with the United States and Ukraine, emphasising that the security interests of both Europe and Ukraine are at stake.
"Ukraine needs strong Armed Forces. If a peace agreement is concluded, Ukraine will continue to need strong Armed Forces and reliable security guarantees from its partners," Merz said.
He noted that the most important guarantee is a well-equipped Ukrainian army.
"That is why we are also discussing the future size of the Ukrainian army," Merz said, adding that it is still too early to discuss any deployment of international forces.
European countries insist that the upper limit on the number of service personnel in Ukraine’s armed forces should be 800,000 rather than 600,000.
The German chancellor also added that Ukraine must not be forced into territorial concessions and that the front line should be the starting point for any negotiations.
Background
- The Financial Times reported that Ukraine had agreed to cap the size of its Armed Forces at 800,000 service personnel.
- At the same time, Chief of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine Andrii Hnatov said that the issue of reducing the size of the Armed Forces had not been discussed during the talks between the Ukrainian and US delegations in Geneva.
