E left a warning to American allies, changing the German in which he began his speech to English: “In the era of rivalry between great powers, not even the USA will be powerful enough to act alone”. Merz recalled that, for generations, “trust between allies, partners and friends has made NATO the strongest alliance of all time” and that “Europe deeply knows how precious this is.”
Addressing the US delegation present in the room, the chancellor continued: “Dear friends, being part of NATO is not just a competitive advantage for Europe, it is also a competitive advantage for the USA. So let’s repair and revive transatlantic trust together. We Europeans are doing our part.”
In the end, when asked about Ukraine, Merz responded with a criticism of the Hungarian Viktor Orbán, recalling the story of “a prime minister” of the EU who traveled to Moscow without a mandate from the 27, “achieved nothing” and, a week later, Ukraine suffered some of the “most violent attacks on civil infrastructure”.
He continued: “So if it makes sense to talk, we are willing to talk. But as you can see with the American side, Russia is not yet willing to talk seriously.” Merz was convinced that the war “will only end when Russia is, at least economically and, potentially, militarily, exhausted.” And he assured: “We are getting closer to that moment… but we are not there yet.”
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