German Chancellor Friedrich Merz has ruled out Ukraine’s immediate accession to the European Union, instead calling for a phased approach to integration, Agence France-Presse (AFP) reported on Friday.

Earlier this week, Bloomberg cited an unnamed EU official as saying that leaders had signaled preliminary conditions are in place for Ukraine to begin the first stage of the membership process, with talks potentially starting in the coming weeks or months.

“It is clear to everyone that an immediate accession of Ukraine to the EU is, of course, not possible,” Merz said as cited by the news agency after an EU summit in Cyprus.…