The German Chancellor, in an interview with the French magazine Paris Match, said that “everyone was wrong about Putin”, confessing that he was always skeptical, but should have realized the magnitude of the threat faster, and long before 2022. “We should have perceived the magnitude of the threat in 2014, when he invaded Crimea, and perhaps as early as 2008, when he attacked Georgia,” the German Chancellor said.
However, he expressed the hope “to relive, one day, good neighborhood relations with the Russians”, but adding that “unfortunately, we are far from it, because we are facing Putin, a” kleptocratic system “that approached the authoritarian.”
“Putin attacked the second largest country on the European continent”
“Let us remind us of the historical size of what is happening: attacking Ukraine, Putin attacked the second largest country on the European continent,” he said.
Asked if he will talk to Moscow again, Mertz said that if this could be useful to something, he would do so, though previous experiences showed that he did not serve.
“The goal is to return to a class and a mutual respect! At the time of German integration, things were not easy – nevertheless we worked with Michael Gorbachev. This is the balance we met after the fall of the USSR in 1991, and until 2022. Putin no longer respects this balance. We hope to find it again, “he said.
Finally, regarding Europe’s relationship with the US of Trump, Mertz is convinced that “workers are hard to become stronger”, it will be possible to “negotiate with the Americans as equal”, while saying he is ready to work with the French President, “
Source: RES-EIA
