German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said in an interview with the French magazine Paris Match that everyone was wrong about Putin, admitting that he himself was always skeptical, but he should have realized the magnitude of the threat sooner, and this long before 2022 and his attack on Ukraine. We should have realized 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 that we will one day experience good neighborly relations with the Russians again, adding, however, that unfortunately, we are very far from this, due to the fact that we are faced with the Putin regime, a"kleptocratic system" that has approached autocracy over the years.

Putin attacked the second largest country on the European continent

Let us recall the historical magnitude of what is happening: by attacking Ukraine, Putin attacked the second largest country on the European continent, he stressed.

When asked whether he would talk to Moscow again, Merz said that if it could be useful in some way, he would do so, although previous experiences have shown that it did not help.

The goal is to return to order and mutual respect! At the time of German unification, things were not easy – nevertheless we worked with Mikhail Gorbachev. This is the balance we knew after the fall of the USSR, in 1991, and until 2022. Putin no longer respects this balance. We hope to find it again, he noted in this regard.

Finally, regarding Europe's relationship with Trump's US, Merz states that he is convinced that by working hard to become stronger, it will be possible to negotiate with the Americans as equals, while he states that he is ready to cooperate with French President Macron, whom he calls his friend, towards leading Europe out of weakness and dependence.