Russia Is Offended By Heavy German Chancellor Calls Putin A War Criminal
JAKARTA - The Kremlin stressed German Chancellor Friedrich Merz's views on Ukraine's peace negotiations should be ignored after Mersz made an unpleasant statement about Russian President Vladimir Putin. Russia was heavily offended by the 'julukan' that was pinned to Putin.
Merz in an interview with broadcaster ProSieben.Sat1 said Putin "may be the most serious war criminal in our time" and there is no place for leniency for such individuals.
The Kremlin denies its troops have committed war crimes in Ukraine.
The Kremlin rejected a 2023 arrest warrant issued for Putin by the International Criminal Court (ICC). The ICC said the Russian leader committed war crimes by kidnapping hundreds of children from Ukraine.
"Merz has made many unfavorable statements in recent hours, making it difficult to consider his current opinion," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said.
When asked which statement was meant, Peskov replied: "About our president".
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Merz said in his interview on German TV, Putin was probably the most serious war official.
"He (Putin) is a war criminal. He may be the most serious war criminal of our time, which we are currently seeing on a large scale. And we have to take a firm stance on how we deal with war criminals. That's where the attempt to circulate is not in place," said the German Chancellor.