Keeping It Up? Where Friedrich Merz Will Take Germany’s Foreign Policy

... between Vladimir Putin and Olaf Scholz in November 2024. The ball is now in Berlin's court. Right now, the idea of launching Nord Stream 2 may seem far-fetched. However, for Merz, it is the only opportunity to quickly address one of the most important ... ... confrontational aspects in Russian–German relations. Among them, the overall dynamics of relations between Russia and the West carry the most weight. Germany will not single-handedly initiate the normalization of bilateral ties, nor can it confront ...