German Federal Chancellor Friedrich Merz, speaking at the Munich Security Conference, did not reject the idea of negotiations with Russia, but emphasized that negotiations should not be just for the sake of negotiations.
Friedrich Merz. Photo: AP Photo/Ebrahim Noroozi
“Someone from the European Union, a prime minister, went to Moscow on his own [referring to Hungarian leader Viktor Orban. — Ed.]. That was almost two years ago. He had no mandate. He went there and achieved nothing. Over the next week, we witnessed the heaviest attacks on civilian infrastructure, on private homes, on hospitals.
If there is sense in talking, we are ready to talk. But, as you can see from the [achievements] of the American side, Russia is not yet willing to talk seriously,” Merz said.
He expressed the opinion that the Russian-Ukrainian war will end only when Russia is exhausted at least economically and potentially — in the military sphere.
“We are getting closer to that. We have done a lot to achieve this, but we are not there yet […] Russia has the [opportunity] to stop the war, but we also have in our hands — America, Europe, and Ukraine together — the [opportunity] to bring them to this point.
If there is sense in talking, we are ready to talk. But they must recognize that they are truly ready to talk about a ceasefire and then about a peace plan,” Merz said.
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