Former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev has said he may envision kidnappings similar to those carried out by the United States in Venezuela against other world leaders, including German Chancellor Friedrich Merz.
“The kidnapping of Merz, a neo-Nazi, could be an excellent turn of events in this orgy,” state news agency TASS quoted Medvedev, now deputy chairman of Russia’s Security Council, as saying on Sunday.
He added that this scenario was not unrealistic.
“There are even grounds to prosecute him in Germany, so there is nothing to lose, especially considering that citizens are suffering needlessly,” Medvedev said.
Medvedev, who served as Russia’s president from 2008 to 2012, has become one of the Kremlin’s most outspoken hardliners in recent years, often issuing aggressive attacks on Ukraine and the West.
He also said the Trump administration’s claim that Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro – who was captured during a U.S. military operation over the weekend and taken to New York – was illegitimate has not stood up to scrutiny.
Medvedev later told Ukrainian President Zelensky that his term had expired.
Moscow has long claimed that Zelensky is an illegitimate leader because elections have not yet been held. However, Zelensky remained in office under Ukraine’s constitution, which allows for extended presidential terms in wartime.
