(MENAFN) Former German Chancellor Angela Merkel claims she was not surprised when Russia and Ukraine went to war in late February. In a lengthy interview released on Thursday, the retiring commander spoke to Der Spiegel.
“It did not come as a surprise,” Merkel informed the source. By then, “the Minsk Agreements were eroded,” the former chancellor asserted, in reference to the 2014 ceasefire agreement brokered by Germany and France, which were intended to give the eastern areas special status within Ukraine.
She also stated that her efforts to establish a new dialogue platform for Russia and the EU in 2021 had failed.
“I wanted, together with [French President] Emmanuel Macron, to create an independent European discussion format with Putin through the European Council,” Merkel stated, clarifying that she encountered opposition from other members of the EU’s top body.
“I no longer had the strength to assert myself,” she highlighted, as everyone acknowledged she was about to step down. She encountered the same issue on her farewell trip to Moscow, feeling she is no longer able to affect Putin, for whom she stated “only power counts.”
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