Europe will not follow U.S. in lifting Russia sanctions, Merz says

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz expressed on October 12th his disagreement with President Donald Trump's decision to purchase Russian diesel fuel. Merz stated that Europe would not follow the U.S. example and instead would only tighten sanctions on Moscow. He emphasized that Germany and Europe would maintain sanctions against Russia.

Merz affirmed that Russia would only negotiate seriously under pressure and that is why they would continue to uphold their sanctions against Russia. He further stated that the sanctions should be strengthened further in response to Moscow's attacks, particularly those targeting Ukraine's civilian energy infrastructure. Merz also reassured Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy that Germany and Europe would continue to support him.