OREANDA-NEWS German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, against the background of the European Commission's desire to multiply military spending, said that his country was already in conflict with Russia.

"We are already in conflict with Russia," he said in an interview with the French television channel LCI.

At the same time, Merz blamed Moscow for the current situation, which allegedly "destabilizes a significant part" of Germany and "interferes" in the country's affairs through social networks. Previously, Russia categorically rejected such baseless accusations.

According to the chancellor, the special services report to him about Russia's alleged "daily attacks" on German infrastructure and "attempts to influence public opinion" in Germany.

Vladimir Putin explained in detail in an interview with American journalist Tucker Carlson in the past that Russia was not going to attack NATO countries, there was no point in that. He noted that Western politicians regularly intimidate their population with an imaginary Russian threat in order to distract attention from internal problems, but "smart people understand perfectly well that this is fake."