Merz calls White House scandal 'deliberate escalation' – media

18:01, 03.03.2025 1 min read

CDU leader Friedrich Merz and candidate for German chancellor considers the scandal between US President Donald Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy a deliberate escalation by the US, Tegesschau.de reported on Monday.

Merz said he had re-watched the scene several times. "In my opinion, this meeting in the Oval Office was not a spontaneous reaction to Zelenskyy's words, but an obviously provoked escalation. I was somewhat surprised by the tone of the conversation - it did not bring any benefit," he said after consultations of CDU committees in Berlin.

According to Bild, Merz said that such rhetoric fits into the general line of behavior of the new US administration in recent months.

"What we have just seen in Washington has a certain continuity with a number of events in the last few weeks, including the appearance of the American delegation in Munich at the security conference," Merz added.