FILE PHOTO: German Chancellor Friedrich Merz and Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskiy attend a press conference, at the Chancellery in Berlin, Germany, May 28, 2025.REUTERS/Fabrizio Bensch/File Photo

BERLIN (Reuters) -German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said he hopes Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy will be involved at the Russia-U.S. summit.

Merz said he will have a call with U.S. president Donald Trump on Sunday in an interview with public broadcaster ARD.

“We are preparing intensively at the European level together with the U.S. government for this meeting,” Merz said.

“And we hope and assume that the Ukrainian government and President Zelenskiy will be involved in this meeting."

Zelenskiy won diplomatic backing from Europe and the NATO alliance on Sunday ahead of a Russia-U.S. summit this week where Kyiv fears Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump may try to dictate terms for ending the 3-1/2-year war.

"We cannot accept that territorial issues are decided between Russia and America over the heads of Europeans and Ukrainians," Merz said.

He added that there can be no peace that rewards Russia’s aggressive actions and possibly encourages and emboldens further actions.

(Reporting by Maria Martinez; Editing by Andrew Cawthorne)