German Chancellor Friedrich Merz claims that further diplomatic efforts towards Russia are futile. He calls for the defense of Ukraine and draws attention to attacks on civilians.
Further diplomatic efforts towards Russia are futile as the answer is only further attacks on children’s hospitals, senior facilities and civilian infrastructure in Ukraine. German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said this on Friday at a pre-election rally in the federal state of Hesse, TASR reports, according to the DPA agency.
- Merz rejects further diplomacy with Russia without a ceasefire.
- According to him, Russia is also attacking the European political order.
- It is essential to achieve a cessation of fighting in Ukraine first.
- Putin wants to prevent the emergence of democracy near the Russian borders.
According to the German leader, this war is not only about the territorial integrity of Ukraine, because it is also “a war against the entire political arrangement of Europe”. In front of approximately two thousand participants of the pre-election rally, Merz declared that Putin is not only trying to expand Russia to the west, but is also trying to destroy the threat of democracy and the rule of law at its borders.
A truce is a condition
At the same time, the chancellor rejected calls for more intensive diplomacy, as Western powers have so far offered Russian President Vladimir Putin “all forms of dialogue, including negotiations with the Russian leadership.”
Merz emphasized that his only condition for negotiations is a ceasefire. “If we are to talk, they must at least silence the guns,” added the German chancellor. Since Putin has renewed his attacks on Ukraine, diplomacy has no chance of succeeding at the moment. “We have to defend ourselves and we have to protect Ukraine from this aggression,” declared Merz.
With his speech, the chancellor kicked off the final phase of the campaign before the regional elections, while it was his first pre-election speech in Hesse since the federal elections the previous year, DPA reminds.
