![\"Germany\u2019s](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/ezgif-1756668656.jpg\" "\\"Germany\u2019s")
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German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said he is mentally preparing for a long war in Ukraine. | Pool Photo by Manon Cruz via EPA<\/p>\n
\u201cDiplomacy isn\u2019t about flipping a switch overnight and suddenly everything is fine again,\u201d the chancellor said in an interview. <\/strong><\/p>\n German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said he is mentally preparing for a prolonged war in Ukraine but declined to comment on whether Berlin would deploy peacekeeping troops in the event of a ceasefire, News.Az<\/a> reports citing the Politico<\/a>.<\/p>\n In a televised interview on Sunday he also said that if he hadn\u2019t decided to alter Germany\u2019s debt rules to allow it to massively invest in defense, the NATO alliance would probably have disintegrated in June.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m mentally preparing myself for the fact that this war could drag on for a long time,\u201d he told ZDF when asked if he was hopeful that a ceasefire could be reached next year. \u201cWe\u2019re trying to end it as quickly as possible, but certainly not at the price of Ukraine\u2019s capitulation.\u201d<\/p>\n Last week Merz\u00a0had expressed skepticism\u00a0that U.S. President Donald Trump\u2019s ongoing peace push with Russian President Vladimir Putin would yield results.<\/p>\n \u201cI would like the United States of America to work with us to solve this problem for as long as possible,\u201d Merz said. \u201cDiplomacy isn\u2019t about flipping a switch overnight and then everything will be fine again. It\u2019s a lengthy process.\u201d<\/p>\n Asked about security guarantees \u2014 intended to protect Ukraine from another Russian attack in case of a peace agreement\u00a0\u2014 Merz said: \u201cThe number one priority is supporting the Ukrainian army so that they can defend this country in the long term. That is the absolute priority, and we will begin doing that now.\u201d<\/p>\n When pressed as to whether Germany would be ready to send troops to Ukraine in the event of a ceasefire, Merz stressed that every foreign troop deployment required Bundestag approval. He did not specify what a German deployment could look like or whether he supported such a step.<\/p>\n Despite a huge expansion in military spending,\u00a0Germany has struggled to recruit and train battle-ready soldiers, with troop levels flatlining at around 182,000 despite significant efforts to grow the force.<\/p>\n During Sunday\u2019s interview Merz defended his coalition\u2019s\u00a0historic decision to loosen the debt brake on defense spending\u00a0\u2014 made possible by an unexpected U-turn by Merz\u2019s conservatives right after the election \u2014 and even went so far as to link it to NATO\u2019s survival.<\/p>\n \u201cWe were essentially able to preserve NATO with our decision,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n \u201cI was at\u00a0the NATO summit in The Hague\u00a0[June 24-25]. If we hadn\u2019t changed the constitution and we hadn\u2019t been willing to allow the Federal Republic of Germany to spend 3.5 percent on defense plus 1.5 percent on the necessary infrastructure, then NATO would probably have disintegrated that day. We prevented that.\u201d<\/p>\n