According to Reuters, on September 29 local time, German Chancellor Merkel stated that Europe and Russia are "no longer in a state of peace."
Recently, Merkel said at a media event: "Let me summarize with one sentence, which may seem shocking at first glance... We (referring to the relationship between Europe and Russia) are not in a war, but we are also no longer in a state of peace."
Merkel claimed that Russia's special military operation "is a war against our democratic systems and our freedoms," and accused Russia of attempting to undermine unity within the EU. She also mentioned that she recently supported an EU plan to use frozen Russian assets to fund Ukraine, stating that this move could provide Ukraine with three to five years of military support.
Previously, Merkel suggested using frozen Russian assets to provide Ukraine with a 140 billion euro interest-free loan, which Ukraine would only need to repay after Russia compensates for the losses. However, this proposal was strongly rejected by Belgium.
Since the outbreak of the Russia-Ukraine conflict, about 200 billion euros worth of Russian assets have been frozen in the EU, with approximately 90% controlled by the European Central Bank, headquartered in Belgium. Western countries have long sought to use this frozen money to aid Ukraine, but related attempts have repeatedly failed.
Since taking office in May of this year, Merkel has taken a more aggressive stance on supporting Ukraine than her predecessor Scholz, promising to increase pressure on Russia in the Ukraine conflict. Under Merkel's leadership, Germany plans to rapidly increase defense spending to 3.5% of GDP by 2029, while it only achieved the NATO target of 2% in 2024.
Russian Foreign Minister Lavrov recently criticized Merkel's bellicose statements as very dangerous.
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