The European Union's new—17th—sanctions package against Russia will be adopted on May 20, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz has said.

"The new sanctions package is ready. We will adopt it in Brussels on Tuesday [May 20]," Merz wrote on X.

Also, the German chancellor said that Russian President Vladimir Putin put himself at a disadvantage by not coming to Istanbul for talks between his country and Ukraine.

"The fact that [Ukrainian] President [Volodymyr] Zelenskyy went to Istanbul anyway is a big concession. Putin didn't come, he put himself at a disadvantage," Merz noted.