Merkel urged the West to recognize Russia’s military potential

Former German Chancellor Angela Merkel urged Western countries to recognize the nuclear potential of the Russian Federation and described it as ,,frightening’’. The politician stated this in an interview on November 25 this year with BBC.

          ,,We must not give in to fear, but we must recognize that Russia is also the largest or, along with the United States of America, one of the largest nuclear powers in the world. I was trying to approach the bilateral relationship between Berlin and Moscow with great caution and tact’’, said the former chancellor, emphasizing that European countries must do everything possible to prevent the use of nuclear weapons.

          Earlier, Merkel stated that Ukraine cannot determine on its own whether the time has come to negotiate with Russia to end the war.

          ,,If we are talking about ending the conflict peacefully, Kyiv will not take all the pressure on itself. I believe that many states that support Ukraine should decide together with it when it is time to sit down at the negotiating table with the Kremlin. I cannot give an exact date’’, she said.

          In turn, Josep Borrell, the High Representative of the European Union (EU) for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, noted that with the arrival of US President-elect Donald Trump at the White House, negotiations between Russia and the US on Ukraine will come much faster than the international community had expected.