Russian parliament leader warns Germany's Merz against escalation

The chairman of the Russian parliament, Vyacheslav Volodin, on Saturday warned against an escalation of tensions between his country and Germany in a message to lawmakers in Berlin.

"The current German ruling elite is creating the conditions for an aggravation of the situation and provoking clashes between our countries," Volodin said in the message to the leaders of Germany's main parliamentary parties.

The question is whether the German population wants a confrontation, said the head of the State Duma in Moscow.

"We don't want that. But if it comes to that, then we are ready for it," said Volodin, citing Berlin's ever greater support for Kiev in the war in Ukraine, now in its fourth year.

"We know that the German government is planning to set up missile production in Ukraine. This means that Germany is increasingly being drawn into military action against Russia," said Volodin.

"You yourself understand where this can lead," he said, in reference to World War II.

The specific reason for his criticism were remarks by German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, who praised the United States for freeing Germany from the Nazis at his meeting this week with US President Donald Trump.

Volodin accused Merz of not remembering the Soviet Union's major contribution to the victory over Nazi Germany.

"It was the Soviet Union that defeated fascism and saved the planet from the brown plague," said the Duma chairman.