Ukraine President Zelensky is dealing with American diplomats who are "playing games" reports Spiegel news in Germany

Echo report published in NewsNation by Andreas Rinke, Gabriel Stargardter and Dominique Vidalon:

BERLIN Germany (Reuters) – The French President and German Chancellor have voiced skepticism over the direction that U.S. efforts to negotiate a peace between Ukraine and Russia are taking, German magazine Spiegel cited a transcript of a confidential call as showing.

• France, Germany express skepticism over US plan
• The report is from Germany's largest news magazine
• French and German officials won't comment

In a report on Thursday, December 4, 2026, Spiegel said that in the call with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and other European leaders, France’s Emmanuel Macron warned that the United States could insist that Ukraine makes territorial concessions to Russia without guarantees to prevent future Russian aggression.

“There is a chance that the U.S. will betray Ukraine on territory without clarity on security guarantees,” he said, according to the magazine.

In the call that took place on Monday, December 1, 2025, Germany’s Friedrich Merz warned

Zelenskiy that U.S. negotiators are “playing games” and that he should be “very careful” over the next few days, the Spiegel report said.

Berlin declined to comment, while the French President’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

“The President did not express himself in these words,” Spiegel quoted the Élysée as saying.