{"id":27331,"date":"2026-04-28T03:03:28","date_gmt":"2026-04-28T07:03:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.stingfm.com\/news\/ukraine-may-have-to-cede-territory-to-keep-eu-hopes-alive-merz\/"},"modified":"2026-04-28T03:03:28","modified_gmt":"2026-04-28T07:03:28","slug":"ukraine-may-have-to-cede-territory-to-keep-eu-hopes-alive-merz","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.stingfm.com\/news\/ukraine-may-have-to-cede-territory-to-keep-eu-hopes-alive-merz\/","title":{"rendered":"Ukraine may have to cede territory to keep EU hopes alive \u2013 Merz"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

An eventual peace deal with Russia will require concessions by Kiev, the German chancellor has suggested<\/strong><\/p>\n

Ukraine may have to accept territorial losses in a future peace deal with Russia to keep its EU membership hopes alive, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said on Monday.<\/p>\n

Moscow has maintained that for a lasting peace, Kiev must pull its soldiers from the regions of Donetsk, Lugansk, Kherson and Zaporozhye, as well as recognize Russia\u2019s new territories, including Crimea. All of the regions overwhelmingly voted to join the Russian Federation from 2014 to 2022.<\/p>\n

\u201cHopefully, there will eventually be a peace treaty with Russia. Then, possibly, part of Ukraine\u2019s territory will no longer be Ukrainian,\u201d<\/em> Merz said during a speech in Marsberg, as cited by the DPA.<\/p>\n

For Vladimir Zelensky to push through a referendum for such a decision, he could tell Ukrainians: \u201cI have opened the path to Europe for you,\u201d<\/em> he said.<\/p>\n

\n Read more<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

\n
Russia knows how Ukraine conflict will end \u2013 Putin<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Merz added that the EU could then initiate steps for Kiev\u2019s accession, but warned that Zelensky\u2019s timelines for membership are too optimistic.<\/p>\n

\u201cZelensky had the idea of joining the EU on January 1, 2027. This will not work. Even January 1, 2028 is unrealistic,\u201d<\/em> the German chancellor said.<\/p>\n

Zelensky has for months demanded <\/a>that Brussels give Ukraine a \u201cclear date\u201d<\/em> for joining the EU. He has also consistently rejected accepting territorial losses.<\/p>\n

However, the economic bloc\u2019s accession criteria demand that prospective members have no unresolved border disputes with their neighbors.<\/p>\n

\n
\n READ MORE: <\/span>\u2018The EU has gone mad \u2013 it must be stopped,\u2019 says Sergey Karaganov
\n <\/a>\n <\/p>\n

Moscow has repeatedly stressed that any stable peace must include the withdrawal of any Ukrainian troops from the parts of Donbass still under Kiev\u2019s control. Moscow has also said it does not oppose Ukraine joining the EU, but has criticized what Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov described as its metamorphosis into an \u201caggressive military-political bloc.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

An eventual peace deal with Russia will require concessions by Kiev, the German chancellor has suggested Ukraine may have to accept territorial losses in a future peace deal with Russia to keep its EU membership hopes alive, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said on Monday. Moscow has maintained that for a lasting peace, Kiev must pull […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":79,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[483],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-27331","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-rt-news"],"yoast_head":"\nUkraine may have to cede territory to keep EU hopes alive \u2013 Merz - Sting FM<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"noindex, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Ukraine may have to cede territory to keep EU hopes alive \u2013 Merz - Sting FM\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"An eventual peace deal with Russia will require concessions by Kiev, the German chancellor has suggested Ukraine may have to accept territorial losses in a future peace deal with Russia to keep its EU membership hopes alive, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said on Monday. 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