German Chancellor Friedrich Merz has admitted that Europe misjudged Vladimir Putin for far too long, highlighting critical moments such as the 2008 war in Georgia and the 2014 annexation of Crimea as turning points that should have raised alarm bells.
In an interview with the French magazine Paris Match, Merz said he had always been skeptical of the Russian leader but emphasized that Europe failed to grasp the scale of the threat in time.
While expressing hope that one day Europe could again have good neighborly relations with the Russian people, Merz stressed that for now, such a scenario is still “a very distant prospect.”
“We are facing Putin’s regime – a kleptocratic system that has shifted towards autocracy over the years. By attacking Ukraine, Putin struck at the second-largest country on the European continent,” the Chancellor warned.
Asked whether he would be open to dialogue with Moscow, Merz said he would engage in talks if it could serve a useful purpose.
“The goal is to return to order and mutual respect. After German reunification, things were not easy, yet we managed to work with Mikhail Gorbachev. That balance, which we knew from 1991 until 2022, no longer exists. Putin does not respect it anymore. We must strive to restore it,” he noted.
On Europe’s relationship with the United States, Merz stated that the continent must become stronger in order to negotiate with Washington as equals. He also expressed readiness to work closely with French President Emmanuel Macron, whom he described as “a friend,” to help lift Europe out of “weakness and dependency.”
