Reuters reported that on May 17, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said that Europe still has a long way to go before it can consider deploying troops to Ukraine in the context that all current efforts are focused on pushing Russia and Ukraine to accept an unconditional peace agreement.
According to Mr. Merz, the current time is not suitable to talk about the deployment of soldiers and the goal that needs to be prioritized by Western countries is to end the conflict, end the shooting and end the blood splash.
Mr. Merz frankly said: "The next step is to clarify the framework for peace negotiations", noting that the necessary security guarantees for Ukraine will still be considered but will take place "one day".
Mr. Merz's speech was made after he and the leaders of the UK, France, Poland and Ukraine attended a meeting in Albania on May 16 to discuss the situation of the conflict.
At the meeting, they also called US President Donald Trump - who later said he would have a conversation with Russian President Vladimir Putin on May 19.
However, it is noteworthy that Italian President Giorgia Meloni did not appear at the above meeting.
This has led many Italian media outlets to question whether French President Emmanuel Macron will "intentionally push Meloni out" because Meloni often has opposite views on the West's strategy for Ukraine.
Previously, in March, Prime Minister Meloni publicly rejected the proposal to deploy troops in Ukraine - a plan that the UK and France have always pursued strongly, even planning to send tens of thousands of soldiers to Ukraine in the post-conflict period.
Not stopping there, in February 2023, Ms. Meloni also criticized France and Germany after not being invited to attend a dinner in Paris - an event with Mr. Zelensky's presence. Ms. Meloni said that this action was inappropriate and undermined the unity of the European Union (EU).
Speaking to the press on May 17, Ms. Meloni affirmed that Italy is ready to participate in any international framework to end the war but warned of the risk of division within the West.
Meloni stressed that the greatest strength of the West is unity and that at the present time, it is important to put aside individual disagreements.
