Germany's Merz Calls Putin War Criminal

(MENAFN- UkrinForm) German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said this in an interview with Sat.1 television , Ukrinform reports.

“He (Putin) is a war criminal. This is perhaps the most brutal war of our time, on such a scale as we are now witnessing. We must clearly understand how to deal with war criminals. And there is no room for concessions here,” the German Chancellor stated.

Merz said he sees no reason to trust any statements from the Russian leader. In his view, Putin will be ready for negotiations“only when he sees personal benefit in them.” At the moment, according to Merz, continuing the war gives Putin every advantage: territorial gains in Ukraine, debates in Europe and America, the way he is treated by the U.S. President and other world leaders - mentioning, among other things, the recent summit in China.

“At this moment, he (Putin) has no reason to move toward a ceasefire, let alone a peace agreement. We must create that reason. Militarily, this will be difficult. But economically, it is possible. We must ensure that Russia can no longer sustain its war economy. I am talking about economic exhaustion, which we must achieve - for example, through tariffs on those who still actively trade with Russia. And here we again come back to the United States,” Merz said.

Answering a question about possible German participation in maintaining a ceasefire if one is reached, Merz stressed that“at least in Germany, there are no such concrete plans,” and that such discussions would only be possible after a ceasefire - and only with the Kremlin's consent.

At the same time, he indirectly criticized European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen (his fellow CDU party member), noting that“the European Union also has no such plans, since the EU is not responsible for this.”

“Right now, we are helping the Ukrainian army in its fight against Russian aggression. This is what we are doing now, and it is the most important security guarantee for Ukraine - both now and in the future. Everything else can be discussed only after at least a ceasefire is reached. Until that moment, there will definitely be no troop deployments to Ukraine. And even after that, I would seriously question it for the Federal Republic of Germany. I have said before - the Bundestag would have to approve it. We will need to see what any agreement with Russia would look like. It cannot be against Russia, only together with Russia. So, there are still many obstacles ahead - and perhaps a very long road,” the chancellor said.

Read also: Merz : Ukraine's war must end quickly, but not at cost of its capitulatio

Merz also expressed concern about Germany's own security, which faces daily hybrid attacks from Russia.

“We face serious threats to our security from Russia - sabotage, cyberattacks, damage to undersea cables, and much more. This is my main concern now: how we can counter these threats. Everything else is only speculation about the future. And again: if there is ever a ceasefire or even a peace agreement, it will only be possible with Russia's participation, not without it,” Merz stressed.

As reported by Ukrinform, German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius recently criticized European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen for her remarks about possible plans to deploy peacekeepers in Ukraine.

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