After a little-trumpy conversation, Merz does not want to talk to the Kremlin. “There is a pattern with the Russian president”
Friedrich Merz. Photo: Emmanuele Contini / Imago Stock & People / Profimedia
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz sees a connection between Thursday's telephone conversation between Russian President Vladimir Putin and his American counterpart Donald Trump and subsequent massive air attacks on Ukraine, said Stefan Kornelius, the spokesman of the German government, reports DPA, taken over by Agerpres.
The chancellor has noticed several times in the last days “that there is a pattern with the Russian president and that the phone calls are usually accompanied by even harsher attacks” on Ukraine, “Stefan Kornelius told Berlin. “What happened last night supported or strengthened this impression,” Kornelius added.
The US and Russian presidents discussed the phone on Thursday, after which the Ukrainian authorities reported over 500 Russian attacks with drones, missiles and cruise missiles. The main target was the capital Kiev, where Mayor Vitali Kliciko said 23 people were injured.
Merz also spoke with Trump on the phone on Thursday, confirmed government sources for DPA. Spiegel magazine reported that the discussion focused on strengthening the air defense for Ukraine and commercial issues.
The massive attacks on Ukraine following the phone call Putin-Trump speak for themselves, said Kornelius. He hoped that this would contribute to “a decision on attitude towards Russia, especially in terms of sanctions.”
To date, Trump has not ranked EU requests to tighten sanctions against Russia.
At the beginning of his term, Merz suggested he would have a phone call with Putin. “This is an option,” he said during his visit to Kiev in mid-May, in an interview with the German press.
Last week, however, the chancellor abstained from formulating a similar desire on a possible telephone discussion with Putin, in an interview with the German newspaper Süddeutsche Zeitung.
“The most recent visit to the Hungarian Prime Minister (Viktor Orbán) was followed by Russia's intense bombing on Kiev and a hospital,” Merz said. “The last telephone conversation with my predecessor was followed by bombs on a children's hospital,” he added, referring to a telephone discussion between Putin and former Chancellor Olaf Scholz in November.
Merz said he will refrain from phone calls with Putin for a long time from now, if the result of these discussions are the attacks.
