German Chancellor Friedrich Merz believes that Russian ruler Vladimir Putin will not stop at Ukraine in his aggressive foreign policy.

Source: Merz at a party congress of the Christian Social Union in Munich, as cited by DW and reported by European Pravda

Details: Merz said that Putin is interested in a "fundamental change of borders in Europe" and in restoring the Soviet Union within its former borders. In his view, this poses a "huge threat, including a military one, to countries that were once part of this empire".

Quote: "Putin will not stop. And if Ukraine falls, he will not stop."

Details: The German chancellor said that continued support for Ukraine and European unity in strategic cooperation with the UK are priorities in foreign and security policy. He also stressed the importance of preserving NATO "for as long as possible", noting that its effectiveness has repeatedly been questioned by US President Donald Trump.

From the perspective of policy towards Russia, Merz said that the rushed entry of several states into the First World War in 1914 is the wrong historical analogy. "Perhaps it would be more appropriate to use 1938 as a historical analogy," he noted. Merz explained that after the Munich Agreement, Adolf Hitler saw that his imperial expansionist ambitions were reinforced by the appeasement policies of European states, and a year later he launched the Second World War.

Background:

• US Republican Congressman Don Bacon said that forcing Ukraine to give up its territories for the sake of a peace agreement resembles the situation of the "Munich conspiracy" of 1938.
• Earlier, independent Senator from Maine Angus King compared the proposed peace plan of the US administration to the Munich Agreement concluded in 1938 by UK Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain with Adolf Hitler, which became a historic failure of the policy of appeasement.

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