01/24/2025
Friedrich Merz, leader of the conservative Christian Democratic Union (CDU) party and candidate for chancellor of Germany, said that if elected, a just end to the war in Ukraine would be among his strategic priorities. He also pledged to continue supporting Kyiv.
He made this statement at a public event in Berlin on January 23, reports the German magazine Der Spiegel. In particular, Merz spoke out in favor of Ukraine’s victory in the war, which involves the restoration of its territorial integrity and complete freedom to choose political and military alliances.
Speaking about the cessation of hostilities, he emphasized that Ukraine must “win the war” and be free to choose its political and military alliances.
“Victory means the restoration of territorial integrity with a democratically legitimate government exercising its own state sovereignty,” the politician said.
In addition, he stated that “Russia no longer sees any chance of successfully continuing this war by military means.”
At the same time, Merz did not directly comment on the controversy surrounding the additional package of military aid to Ukraine in the amount of 3 billion euros.
According to Meretz, the ambitions of dictator Vladimir Putin are not limited to Ukraine, and in a few years, “the Russian Federation will be able to challenge NATO with conventional (non-nuclear) weapons,” DW quotes him as saying.
Merz sees the war against Ukraine in the context of what he called “an era of emerging new systemic conflict between liberal democracies and illiberal autocracies.” He sees Russia and China at the forefront of this trend.
If he wins the election, Merz intends to restore Germany’s weakened foreign policy capacity, as he believes, and also regain the trust of partners, primarily neighboring Poland and France.
He advised Europeans not to look at US President Donald Trump, who criticizes Europe for insufficient defense spending, but to “do their homework,” in particular, increase defense capabilities.
Like current German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, Merz stated that Germany should not become a party to the war.
As OBOZ.UA reported, on January 23, Donald Trump said that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky “should not have allowed war” and immediately “made a deal,” but at the same time condemned the full-scale Russian attack. Trump also accused his predecessor Joe Biden of allowing Europe to spend “$200 billion” less than the United States and of “making Putin richer” with his energy policy.
Strong words from Merz. Let’s hope he’ll back them up with action. We have enough other Western leaders that are great at pumping air.
Saw a very interesting sight here today. All afternoon, what looked like Hercules C130’s were taking off and landing at the local airport. This went on for 5 or 6 hours. Maybe they were refuelling on their way to Poland?
Whatever the reason, I hope it had something to do with helping Ukraine.
Well, it is only a local airport, and the amount of planes landing there suggests the planes were refuelling. There is no way that the airport has the facilities to unload large cargo planes.
Andere boren in der Nase und stossen auf öl. 🤣
😂
Go Merz!