Spanish
Berlin, June 24 (EFE).- German Chancellor Friedrich Merz emphasized that with Germany there will be neither a suspension nor a termination of the EU-Israel association agreement as Spain demands after the European External Action Service (EEAS) saw indications that the Israelis are violating their obligations in terms of human rights.
In a government statement prior to his departure for the NATO summit in The Hague and the European Council in Brussels, Merz thanked his Foreign Minister, Johann Wadephul, for having clearly positioned himself with regard to the association agreement.
"With the federal government, a suspension or termination is out of the question," he hammered home.
At the same time, referring to the situation in Gaza, the chancellor assured that his Executive "critically questions" Israel about what objective it intends to achieve in the Strip and demands that the civilian population, especially women, children and the elderly, be treated with dignity.
In his speech, Merz also alluded to the war between Iran and Israel and once again approved of Israeli and US attacks against targets of the Iranian nuclear program, which also endangers Europe and the entire world, he said.
"Israel has the right to defend its existence and the security of its citizens. Part of the raison d'état of the ayatollah regime is to destroy Israel. For us, our raison d'état is to defend Israel in its existence," reiterated the chancellor.
At the same time, Merz warned that the conflict with Iran should not "drag the entire region into the abyss," therefore he welcomed the US call for a ceasefire and asked both parties to follow it, as he had previously done in a message on the social network X.
On the sidelines of the NATO summit in The Hague, the chancellor will address with the rest of NATO partners how the situation can be "stabilized at this time", he pointed out.
