Friedrich Merz, the Union’s candidate for chancellor, arrived in Ukraine on Monday morning. For the second time since the start of the war, the CDU leader wants to get an idea of the situation in the war-torn country, which has been fighting back a Russian invasion since February 24, 2022. Merz wants to hold political discussions, focusing on the topics of security, critical infrastructure and bilateral and European cooperation. For security reasons, no more details about the program were initially communicated.
“I traveled to Kiev to assure the Ukrainian government and the people of Ukraine that the CDU/CSU parliamentary group is firmly at their side,” explained Merz. “We want this terrible war to end as quickly as possible and peace to be restored in Europe. To do this, Ukraine must be put in a position in which it can exercise its right to self-defense. Only if Ukraine is strong will Putin be willing to engage in negotiations. If our support for Ukraine weakens, this war will last longer. If our support for Ukraine is consistent, this war will end sooner. We want our friends in Ukraine to be able to live in peace and freedom.”
:“Weakness invites aggression”
How would Chancellor Merz deal with Russia? The CDU leader says he wants to put significantly more money into defense – and criticizes Scholz’s phone call with Putin.
Those around Merz said that, in contrast to Chancellor Olaf Scholz, Merz was coordinating his trip closely with the most important European partners. Immediately after his talks in Ukraine, he traveled on to Warsaw for talks with Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk. London and Paris were also informed about the trip in advance and would then be informed of the results. In Kiev, Friedrich Merz wants to take part in a joint program element with the Estonian Prime Minister Kristen Michal.
Merz had already visited Ukraine at the beginning of May 2022, a good two months after the start of the Russian war of aggression. In doing so, he anticipated Federal Chancellor Olaf Scholz, who only traveled to Kiev in mid-June 2022 – together with French President Emmanuel Macron and the then Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi. This fall it was Scholz who traveled to Kiev first; he was there on Monday last week. Merz has repeatedly accused Scholz of being too hesitant in supporting Ukraine. Scholz, on the other hand, claims to be more prudent in the conflict than Merz and thus avoid escalation.
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