BERLIN

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz warned Friday that NATO’s current cohesion may not endure for the next five to 10 years.

“I am not sure that we will still have NATO in this way in five or 10 years,” Merz said at a Christian Democratic Union (CDU) event in Volkmarsen, Hesse.

He also stressed that protecting Germany’s interests means safeguarding what NATO has achieved in 75 years.

Reflecting on last year’s early elections, he noted that defense spending decisions were crucial.

“If we had not followed this path, the last NATO summit in The Hague would probably have been the final summit conducted in this way,” he said, citing repeated US warnings.

“We are not ready to permanently guarantee your security while you trade worldwide, buying cheap Russian gas and affordable intermediate products from China.”

Merz said he will meet President Donald Trump in the US. “I will again tell Trump that the hand will continue to be extended. I want NATO to remain, as always, this Western alliance with America and Europe.”

Merz called the Ukraine war “not just a war against Ukraine’s territorial integrity. This is a war against Europe’s entire political order,” he said. “That is why he (Russian President Vladimir Putin) is waging war against Ukraine.”

He rejected diplomatic engagement with Russia for now: “At least when we meet, the weapons must be silent.”

*Writing by Gizem Nisa Demir in Istanbul