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Russia hopes that the future German government will take a “more sober stance” on bilateral relations, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said. His words came after the victory of the conservative CDU/CSU bloc in the early parliamentary elections in Germany. This was reported by Reuters.
According to the results of the vote, Friedrich Merz’s party received 28.5% of the vote, which allows it to form a new government in Berlin. Despite this, Moscow sees no reason to resume dialogue with Europe, which recently agreed on the 16th package of sanctions against Russia.
Russian disinformation and election interference
Before the election, German intelligence agencies recorded a large-scale disinformation campaign aimed at discrediting the electoral process. Fake reports circulated information about the alleged destruction of ballots for the far-right party Alternative for Germany (AfD), which eventually received 20.8% of the vote.
Against the backdrop of Moscow’s interference, newly elected Chancellor Friedrich Merz harshly criticised both Russia’s actions and US interference. He stated that Washington’s influence on the German elections “was no less crude and unceremonious than Moscow’s actions”.
A threat to European unity
Merz also expressed concern that the US and Russia are negotiating a war in Ukraine without European involvement. He stressed that this situation threatens the security and stability of the region.
This rhetoric of the new chancellor may indicate future changes in Germany’s foreign policy, which will be a key factor for Ukraine and its European partners.
