German Chancellor Friedrich Merz has said that at present Russian leader Vladimir Putin has no reason to end the war or conclude a peace agreement with Ukraine.

Source: Merz in an interview with German TV channel Sat.1

Details: Speaking to journalists, Merz said that he has no grounds to trust the Russian leader. He believes Putin will only be ready for talks when it serves his own interests.

Quote: “I have no reason to believe Putin on any point. He will only be willing to negotiate if it is to his advantage. At the moment, by continuing the war, he has all the advantages on his side, from his point of view. He is securing territorial gains. He sees the discussions we are having here in Europe and in the US. He sees how the American president is dealing with him. He sees how other heads of state and government around the world, I’ll just mention Shanghai as an example, are dealing with him at conferences.”

Details: Merz was clear that in order to change the Kremlin’s position, conditions must be created that would force Russia to seek a way out of the war. In his opinion, this can primarily be done by economic means – by exhausting Russia’s war economy.

Quote: “At the moment, he [Putin] has absolutely no reason to come to a ceasefire or even a peace agreement. We have to create the reason. Militarily, that will be difficult, but economically it can be done. We must ensure that Russia is no longer in a position to maintain its war economy.”

Details: As an example, Merz suggested introducing tariffs for countries that continue to trade actively with Russia.

Background:

At the end of August, Merz said the Russo-Ukrainian war might last a very long time and the issue of deploying ground troops to Ukraine is not on the agenda for now.On 3 September, Merz also expressed serious doubts about sending German troops to Ukraine even after a possible ceasefire.

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