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German Chancellor Friedrich Merz has announced that Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy are expected to meet face-to-face within the next two weeks — marking the most significant development in peace efforts since the war began.

Speaking to reporters, Merz confirmed that the meeting is currently being scheduled and credited U.S. President Donald Trump for playing a key role in convincing Putin to agree to the talks.

According to Merz, Trump’s behind-the-scenes diplomacy helped break a long-standing deadlock between Moscow and Kyiv. The planned meeting between the two leaders raises hopes of a potential path toward a negotiated end to the conflict, though major hurdles remain.

Details of the location and format of the talks have not yet been publicly disclosed. However, sources close to the negotiations suggest that a neutral venue is being considered, and that both sides are preparing preliminary proposals.

The announcement follows a wave of high-level diplomacy in Washington, where Zelenskyy met with Trump and several top European leaders. The central goal of those talks was to secure US-backed security guarantees for Ukraine and prevent any peace agreement that would involve major territorial concessions to Russia.

While skepticism remains over whether the Putin-Zelenskyy meeting will produce tangible results, the fact that direct talks are on the horizon is being viewed as a diplomatic breakthrough.

European leaders — including Merz, French President Emmanuel Macron, and NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte — have stressed the importance of Ukraine entering any negotiations with strong international backing. Their message to Trump has been clear: peace must be fair, and Ukraine’s sovereignty cannot be sacrificed.

Now, with a potential summit just weeks away, all eyes will be on whether the upcoming talks can finally break the cycle of war — or whether they will only add to the long list of failed attempts at peace.

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