Former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev said he could imagine abduction operations targeting foreign leaders similar to the recent U.S. action in Venezuela, singling out German Chancellor Friedrich Merz as a possible example.
"The kidnapping of the neo-Nazi Merz could be an excellent twist in this carnival of events," Medvedev, who is now deputy chairman of Russia's Security Council, was quoted as saying by state news agency TASS on Sunday.
Such a scenario was not unrealistic, he added.
"There are even grounds for prosecuting him in Germany, so it would be no loss, especially since the citizens are suffering needlessly," Medvedev said.
Medvedev, who served as Russian president from 2008 to 2012, has in recent years emerged as one of the Kremlin's most outspoken hardliners, frequently delivering aggressive rhetorical attacks against Ukraine and the West.
He also said claims by the Trump administration that Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, who was arrested in a U.S. military operation over the weekend and taken to New York, was illegitimate did not withstand scrutiny.
Medvedev then turned to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, saying that his term in office had long expired.
Moscow has consistently claimed Zelenskyy is an illegitimate leader because elections have not been held. Zelenskyy, however, remains in office under Ukraine's constitution, which allows for the extension of presidential terms during wartime.
