German Chancellor believes Poland is not needed for Russia talks: Der Spiegel

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz reportedly believes that a smaller, three-nation format (Germany, France, and the UK) is more suitable for future negotiations with Russia, Ukraine, and the United States than the current five-nation E5 group. This perspective emerges from a report by the German newspaper "Der Spiegel" following a meeting of the E5 leaders in Berlin. Despite efforts to project unity, the publication suggests underlying cracks in the coalition.

The E5 meeting, which included leaders from Germany, France, the UK, Italy, and Poland, was convened in Berlin partly to address perceived slights. Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk and Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni reportedly expressed dissatisfaction at not being invited to an earlier meeting in London with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. Chancellor Merz's invitation to Berlin was seen as an attempt to smooth over these tensions.

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The five largest European countries are not as united as they try to show in Berlin.

However, "Der Spiegel" indicates that even with Tusk and Meloni present, Merz and his inner circle favor the E3 format for crucial post-war order negotiations. The newspaper suggests that a larger group would only complicate matters. The report also touches on the domestic political pressures faced by leaders like Macron and Tusk, and Meloni's strained relationship with Donald Trump, implying that these factors contribute to the complex dynamics within the European leadership.

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The Chancellor and his people believe that the German-French-British trio E3 is best suited to one day negotiate the post-war order for Europe with the Russians, Ukrainians, and Americans.