Chancellor Merz criticizes Russian President Putin's absence from Istanbul peace talks, saying a ceasefire could have been achieved if he had joined negotiations - Anadolu Ajansı

Germany and its allies will move to confiscate frozen Russian assets if legally possible, Chancellor Friedrich Merz said in an interview with the Zeit newspaper published on Thursday.

"We are waiting for (Russian President Vladimir) Putin's agreement and we agree that if there is no real progress this week, we want to work together at European level for a significant tightening of sanctions," Merz said at a news conference with his Greek counterpart.