Merz and Trump Discuss Ukraine War in Phone Call
German Chancellor and US President agree war must end soon, with NATO approval needed for peace.
AI-assisted coverage comparison, editor-supervised · How this was made
Der deutsche Bundeskanzler Friedrich Merz ist auf diesem Foto während eines Empfangs für die Medaillengewinner der Maccabiah-Spiele 2026 am 6. November 2026 im Bundeskanzleramt in Berlin zu sehen.
Photograph: Der Tagesspiegel (embedded from source)
What this story says
- German Chancellor Friedrich Merz and US President Donald Trump spoke by phone regarding the war in Ukraine.
- Both leaders agreed that the conflict must be brought to an end as soon as possible.
- A peace agreement for Ukraine must receive approval from all NATO partners, according to the discussion.
- The conversation took place in the context of upcoming talks in Abu Dhabi.
Who covered it
Percentages are shares of the 9 outlets carrying a published leaning rating. 14 of the 23 outlets we know ran this story carry no rating and are not counted in them. Coverage measured .
Trust
50/100
Craft
60/100
Hype
41/100
23 sources · methodology
Thin on the left so far
Only 1 of the 9 outlets with a published leaning rating that ran this story are rated left.
This story is still being watched, so it is a count and not yet a finding. Coverage keeps arriving for hours after an event, and a side that has published nothing this morning may publish by tonight. If it is still true when we stop checking, we will say so plainly.
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz spoke by telephone with US President Donald Trump about the war in Ukraine. German government spokesman Stefan Cornelius confirmed the conversation and stated that both leaders agreed the war must end as soon as possible. They also agreed that any peace agreement would require approval from all NATO partners.
The call occurred in the context of upcoming talks in Abu Dhabi. Der Tagesspiegel reported that the German government is concerned about being bypassed in negotiations concerning European security and peace in Ukraine, stating that such discussions are "not productive" without European involvement. The European Commission also expressed that decisions affecting EU security are the EU's prerogative.
Disagreement on the context of the call
While multiple reports state the call was about the war in Ukraine, Der Tagesspiegel indicated the conversation was prompted by Trump's announcement of a "very large" agreement with Moscow concerning Ukraine and potentially "all of Europe." RP Online's headline suggested the call was to address whether Trump might make a deal with Putin without Europe, and n-tv noted the announcement followed a meeting with a Kremlin consultant. In contrast, Interfax.ru and banker.bg did not specify the immediate context beyond the war itself.
What the coverage left out
None of the centre or right-rated reports mentioned the upcoming talks in Abu Dhabi as a specific context for the Merz-Trump conversation. The digests from unrated outlets, however, did mention the Abu Dhabi talks as a point of discussion.
Still developing. We have re-checked which outlets are covering this 4 times, most recently on 6 Nov 2026, 17:30, and will add the sides that appear.
How other outlets pictured it
Which photograph to run is each newsroom’s own choice. The leaning beside a name is that outlet’s published rating, not a claim that the pictures divide along it. Every picture is shown from the outlet’s own server and links to the article it ran in.
How each side covered it
Our own reading of the reporting listed below, written from the outlets’ articles rather than quoted from them. The reasoning is set out on our methodology page.
Left
1 rated outlet
We have not written our reading of the left coverage of this story. The left-rated outlets that ran it are listed below.
Centre
3 rated outlets
- Der Tagesspiegel led with the German government's concern that Europe could be excluded from negotiations, quoting spokesman Stefan Cornelius stating that discussions on European security and peace in Ukraine are "not productive" without European participation. The report highlighted that Chancellor Merz spoke with Trump in the night. It also mentioned Trump's prior announcement of a "very large" agreement with Moscow and a meeting with a Kremlin advisor, framing the call as a response to these developments and a push for European involvement.
Right
5 rated outlets
- Right-rated reports focused on the agreement that a peace deal must be approved by all NATO partners. vz.ru stated Merz called for this condition in a telephone conversation with Trump. Interfax.ru and news-pravda.com, citing Handelsblatt and Stefan Cornelius, reported that Merz and Trump discussed the need for an early end to the Ukrainian conflict and that a peace agreement must be approved by all NATO countries. RP Online's headline questioned if Trump would make a deal with Putin without Europe, and n-tv noted the call followed a meeting with a Kremlin consultant, suggesting a concern about Europe being left out.
Questions about this coverage
- How did the left and right cover Merz and Trump Discuss Ukraine War in Phone Call?
- Of the 9 outlets on this story carrying a published leaning rating, 11% are rated left, 33% are rated centre, 56% are rated right. Those percentages are shares of the rated outlets, not of every outlet that ran it, which was 23. The sections above set out what each side emphasised, in its own terms.
- Is Merz and Trump Discuss Ukraine War in Phone Call left or right?
- Too few of the outlets on this story carry a published leaning rating to say. 9 of them do, and this site does not characterise a field under 12: at that size one newsroom filing moves the share by ten points. The percentages above are the count as it stands.
- Is the coverage of Merz and Trump Discuss Ukraine War in Phone Call biased?
- Merz and Trump Discuss Ukraine War in Phone Call is one event reported by 23 outlets, and this page does not rate the story as biased or unbiased. What it publishes is the spread: which outlets ran it, where named rating organisations place each of them on the spectrum, and what each side chose to lead with. A leaning rating describes an outlet's record over time, not this article, and the two should not be run together.
- Which side is not reporting Merz and Trump Discuss Ukraine War in Phone Call?
- When we first saw this story, outlets rated left had barely covered it. Coverage accretes for hours after an event, so that is where to look rather than a verdict — the split above is the current count, and it is the one to read.
- Which outlets covered Merz and Trump Discuss Ukraine War in Phone Call?
- 23 that we know of, every one of them listed further up this page with a link to its own report and to what we hold on the publisher. Nothing here is a summary of somebody else's summary: the outlets are named so the original reporting can be read.
- What did German Chancellor Merz and US President Trump agree on?
- They agreed that the war in Ukraine must end as soon as possible. They also agreed that any peace agreement for Ukraine must be approved by all NATO partners. The German government spokesman confirmed these details.
- When did this conversation take place?
- The conversation between Chancellor Merz and President Trump took place at night. This was confirmed by the German government spokesman, Stefan Cornelius. The timing is noted in the context of upcoming talks.
- What was the broader context of the Merz-Trump call?
- The call occurred in the context of upcoming talks in Abu Dhabi. The German government expressed concern that European partners might be excluded from negotiations concerning peace and security in Ukraine.
Read it at the source
23 outlets, grouped by the leaning a published rating gives them. Every headline links to the original; an underlined outlet name opens our profile of that publisher.
Left
1Centre
3- After the Meeting with Putin's Emissary, Trump Spoke with Merz on the Phone. (opens Digi 24 in a new tab)
- Berlin, Trump Called Merz After the Meeting with Putin's Envoy (opens ANSA in a new tab)
- "Not Targeting: Merz on the Phone with Trump – Europe Concerned About Alleged Russia-U.S. Deal (opens Der Tagesspiegel in a new tab)
Der Tagesspiegel — is Der Tagesspiegel biased? Our profile of this outlet
Right
5- Merz Called Trump a Condition for a Peace Treaty on Ukraine (opens vz.ru in a new tab)
- Call Merz: Does Trump Make a Deal with Putin without Europe? (opens RP Online in a new tab)
RP Online — is RP Online biased? Our profile of this outletOpinion
- German Chancellor Friedrich Merz held a telephone conversation with US President Donald Trump, government spokesman Stefan Cornelius said, according to Handelsblatt (opens news-pravda.com in a new tab)
news-pravda.com — is news-pravda.com biased? Our profile of this outlet
- Chancellor Merz on the Phone Last Night with US President Trump (opens n-tv in a new tab)
- Trump and Merz Discussed the Ukrainian Conflict (opens Interfax.ru in a new tab)
Interfax.ru — is Interfax.ru biased? Our profile of this outlet
Not rated
14- Friedrich Merz Spoke on the Phone with Donald Trunk for Ukrain. (opens banker.bg in a new tab)
- Trump Spoke with Merz About Ukraine. He Expects a Big Deal with Russia that Will Affect All of Europe (opens Aktuality.sk in a new tab)
Aktuality.sk — is Aktuality.sk biased? Our profile of this outlet
- Urgent Talks Between Mertz and Trump on the War in Ukraine: What the Leaders of Germany and the US Agreed On (opens ТСН.ua in a new tab)
- Trump Spoke with Merz on the Phone: They Discussed the War in Ukraine Before the Talks in Abu Dhabi (opens topky.sk in a new tab)
- Trump Spoke with Merz on the Phone Before the Trilateral Talks in Abu Dhabi (opens Hospodárske Noviny in a new tab)
Hospodárske Noviny — is Hospodárske Noviny biased? Our profile of this outlet
- German Government Spokesman: Mertz Spoke with Trump About Ukraine (opens Naslovi.net in a new tab)
Naslovi.net — is Naslovi.net biased? Our profile of this outlet
- Mertz and Trump Agree on NATO's Condition for Future Peace Agreement Between Ukraine and Russia (opens Unknown in a new tab)
Unknown
- Merz Called Trump Last Night: in Berlin, the Details of the Conversation About Ukraine and NATO Were Revealed. (opens Life.ru in a new tab)
Show 6 more
- War in Ukraine: Vladimir Putin Put the Europeans in the "Game" of Negotiations - Donald Trump Contacted the German Chancellor After His Meeting with the Russian President's Envoy (opens europost.gr in a new tab)
europost.gr — is europost.gr biased? Our profile of this outlet
- Mertz Had a Conversation with Trump About the War in Ukraine (opens Unknown in a new tab)
Unknown
- Merz Discussed US Contacts with Russia with Trump (opens oreanda-news.com in a new tab)
oreanda-news.com — is oreanda-news.com biased? Our profile of this outlet
- Merz Spoke by Phone with Trump Before the Talks in Abu Dhabi on Ukraine (opens Клуб 'Z' in a new tab)
- Trump Called Merz that Night (opens epochtimes.de in a new tab)
epochtimes.de — is epochtimes.de biased? Our profile of this outlet
- German Chancellor Merz Maintains Telephone Conversation with Trump About Ukraine (opens El Economista in a new tab)
El Economista — is El Economista biased? Our profile of this outlet
How did this read?
About the coverage, not about the story. We do not ask whether you agree with what happened — we have no honest use for that answer.
