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Philipp Ackermann, Germany’s ambassador to India, expressed optimism Friday that the next meeting between Russian President Vladimir Putin and US President Donald Trump will be “more fruitful” than the last one in Alaska. The envoy said at the NDTV World Summit that Germany is very concerned about the situation in Ukraine and wants to see the conflict between Moscow and Kyiv end.

“I believe that we in Germany, and I believe that this is true for all of Europe, are quite concerned about what is happening in Ukraine. You mention being tired and exhausted, don’t you? We got a wake-up call, I believe, two or three weeks ago when Russian fighter planes unexpectedly flew into NATO territory for a brief period of time—about fifteen minutes. Then, suddenly, drones started flying above airports in Scandinavia. It’s unclear whether they were Russian, but the possibility exists. Therefore, I believe that Europe feels more threatened,” Ackermann added.

Therefore, I don’t believe we experience weariness or depletion. We are compelled to put a stop to this conflict. Additionally, you brought up the prospect of President Trump and President Putin meeting. I’m hoping for more success than the previous one. However, it is also crucial, in my opinion, that the United States has now at least hinted that it is prepared to hold talks with the Ukrainian side. This makes Russia a little uneasy, and perhaps it is also a show of strength to say, “You know, we don’t accept everything, we want to be allies.”

As Pete Hegseth recently said at the NATO Defense Council, “We are not sitting around doing nothing; we will take action.” For this reason, I believe you need to be a combination of strong, decisive, and open to communication. In contrast to the Middle East, I do not see a halt in hostilities, which is the situation there. I hope it’s not yet a peace process. It’s not one yet, but it will be one. We’ll see that in Russia and Ukraine shortly, I hope,” he said.

Ukraine is assisting Germany in the fight against drone strikes, the German ambassador said.

“Let me tell you one thing: essentially, Ukrainians are now assisting us because they are very skilled in drone battle and battling, as well as drone strikes. They have really sophisticated technologies. We will take a lesson from them since ours isn’t. However, you are correct when you claim that we suddenly see Russian combat.

So far, I believe we need to use extreme caution if it is Russian. Although it hasn’t been confirmed, I believe there is a chance that it has breached NATO territory and boundaries, which constitutes provocation. We must respond, and I believe that in order to deter this aggression, we must put our armed forces in a position to fight it. For this reason, you may have heard that my nation is significantly increasing its defense budget in order to improve the condition of our army.”