German Chancellor Friedrich Merz has voiced skepticism about the prospects of a swift negotiated end to the war in Ukraine.

He said the conflict was likely to conclude only when one side is either militarily or economically exhausted.

“In my assessment, this war will only end when one of the two sides is exhausted, either militarily or economically,” Merz told the Rheinpfalz newspaper in comments published on Thursday.

Referring to Russian President Vladimir Putin, the chancellor added: “Reason and humanitarian arguments will not convince Putin. That is the bitter truth.”

He said European efforts must focus on ensuring “that the Russian state can no longer continue the war militarily and can no longer finance it economically.”

Merz argued that what he called the “Russian power clique” cannot survive without war in the foreseeable future.

“It must keep the war machine running because it has no plan for what else to do with the hundreds of thousands of sometimes severely traumatised soldiers returning from the front,” he said.

Describing Russia’s current trajectory in stark terms, Merz said: “At the moment, we are witnessing this country in a state of profound barbarism.

That would not change in the foreseeable future and it is something we must come to terms with.

Ukraine has been defending itself against Russian attacks for nearly four years.

In recent days, representatives of both sides met in Geneva for talks aimed at ending the conflict, though no details of the discussions were made public.

(dpa/NAN)