During a cabinet meeting held recently in Neuhardenberg, Federal Chancellor Friedrich Merz (CDU) reportedly pushed for the government to publicly identify Russia as the perpetrator of the attempted attack on Leipzig/Halle airport. According to “Der Spiegel”, Merz felt confident at the time that the chain of evidence was strong enough to support such a designation. This conviction was further bolstered by a sensitive tip received in Berlin from a foreign intelligence service during the first half of August, which allegedly linked several individuals involved in the attack to Russian secret services.
However, Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt (CSU) and Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul (CDU) initially advocated for a slower approach. Dobrindt argued that public accusations against Russia could risk jeopardizing ongoing investigations. Meanwhile, Wadephul expressed concerns that the Foreign Ministry needed to prepare for a potential escalation, specifically in case Moscow responded to German sanctions with countermeasures, necessitating warnings for diplomats and securing crucial documents and data.
Ultimately, a public attribution of the attack during the week of the cabinet meeting proved unattainable. In subsequent days, Merz’s security advisor, Günter Sautter, worked with the state secretaries of the Interior and Foreign Ministries to agree upon the finalized wording of the declaration, which Dobrindt and Wadephul had reviewed on Tuesday at the Interior Ministry.
