(MENAFN) German Chancellor Friedrich Merz has warned that the familiar world order in the West is drawing to a close, though the structure of what follows remains unclear.

Addressing an economic forum on Monday organized by Suddeutsche Zeitung, Merz emphasized that the global landscape is experiencing a profound transformation in political and economic influence.

He suggested that Germany, along with other nations, must decide whether to stay passive or actively shape a future political framework that will extend far beyond Europe.

“We do not yet know what it will look like in a few years, but we know quite clearly that the order we have known in the West over the last 80 years, and in the East over the last 35 years, is now coming to an end – on these very days, weeks, and months, today, the day we meet here,” he remarked.

Merz highlighted that a “deep rift” with the United States has emerged, challenging “almost everything that we have considered right and necessary in transatlantic relations over the past decades.”

The chancellor also underscored Germany’s current difficulties, pointing to the Ukraine war, its ties with China, and the trade conflict with the US, which he described as far more intricate than a mere tariff issue.

These comments align with Merz’s previous observations about the diminishing influence of the West. In October, he admitted that the “appeal of what we call the free West is visibly declining.”

Meanwhile, Russian President Vladimir Putin has repeatedly stressed the certainty of a “multipolar world,” criticizing Western “unipolarity” and its hegemonic goals.

He has also argued that “liberal globalization has outlived its usefulness.”

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