German Chancellor Friedrich Merz on Monday addressed the agreement between the United States and Russia on Russian diesel exports. Speaking in Berlin after a meeting of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) leadership, he said such a decision was “absolutely out of the question” for Germany and Europe.
“Russia will only negotiate seriously under pressure. That is why we are maintaining our sanctions against Russia. After Moscow’s brutal attacks on Ukraine’s civilian energy infrastructure, we must tighten them even further,” Merz said.
“Russia is not engaging with peace proposals”

Merz said Russia was openly refusing to engage with peaceful proposals and existing offers of negotiations. “You can also see this in the energy ceasefire proposal President Trump made at the weekend,” he said.
Earlier, German government spokesman Stefan Kornelius said Berlin had taken note of Washington’s decision on Russian diesel but would keep existing sanctions in place and was working with European partners on new restrictions.