Russian President Vladimir Putin should seize the opportunity to agree to a ceasefire in Ukraine during Friday's talks with his US counterpart Donald Trump in Anchorage, Alaska, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said on Friday, TASR reported, citing an AFP report.

“The goal must be a summit that also includes (Ukrainian President Volodymyr) Zelensky,” Merz said in an official statement, adding that Trump “can now take a significant step towards peace,” which he said “the parties must agree on.”

Summit expectations

Trump said on Thursday that he believes Putin will want to reach an agreement to end the more than three-year war in Ukraine at the meeting on Friday. The main goal of the meeting, according to the US president, is to arrange a second meeting, which would be trilateral and include Ukrainian President Zelensky.

Moscow warned on Thursday that it would be a big mistake to predict the outcome of the Alaska summit, but Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov confirmed that the main topic of the talks would be a possible solution to the war in Ukraine.