German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said on Wednesday that Ukraine’s surrender would only provide Russian President Vladimir Putin with time that he could use to prepare for the next war.”This war has to end … But not at any cost. We do not want Ukraine’s capitulation. Such a capitulation would only buy time for Russia. And Putin would use this time to prepare for the next war. That’s why we want and need peace that will last,” Merz told reporters at a joint press conference with Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk, French President Emmanuel Macron, and Moldova’s President Maia Sandu in Moldova. The chancellor said that European leaders are working together and with the United States to bring the war in Ukraine to an end, not only for Ukraine’s sake but also for the benefit of the other countries in Europe.