MOSCOW, November 12. /TASS/. The statement by the candidate for the German chancellorship, Friedrich Merz, regarding the possible delivery of German Taurus missiles to Kiev is irresponsible. Talking to Russia in the language of ultimatums is counterproductive and short-sighted, Russian Federation Council Deputy Speaker Konstantin Kosachev said.

Earlier, Merz stated that if he were to become the German chancellor, he would be ready to hold a telephone conversation with Russian President Vladimir Putin to discuss the situation in Ukraine, and to present an ultimatum demanding the cessation of hostilities within 24 hours. If this demand were not met, Germany would supply Kiev with Taurus long-range missiles and lift all restrictions on the use of its weapons for attacks deep into Russia.

"The statement by the candidate for the German chancellorship, Friedrich Merz of the Christian Democratic Union of Germany, is irresponsible. <…> The so-called permission to use Taurus missiles means Germany’s continued deep involvement in the conflict in Ukraine," the senator wrote on his Telegram channel.

Kosachev also emphasized that talking to Russia in the language of ultimatums "is not only counterproductive, but also short-sighted, especially for Germany."

"The intensification of aggressive rhetoric and Germany’s involvement in Ukrainian affairs is exactly the opposite of the tendencies in German society. Anti-German elites in Berlin are pushing their own country to the brink of a military conflict with a nuclear power that has never expressed readiness for such a conflict, never threatened, and has never taken hostile actions on its own initiative," the senator concluded.