Yuri Kobzar10:29, 04/30/23

The ex-chancellor is sure that she does not need to be criticized for the war that became the result of her reign.

Former German Chancellor Angela Merkel believes that, despite the war in Ukraine, her policy towards Russia was correct. The politician spoke about this in an interview with the German edition of ZEIT .

Thus, Merkel called her efforts within the framework of the Minsk process to resolve the conflict in Donbas correct. 

“I approve of those diplomatic attempts [to settle]. Much to my chagrin, there were quite a few who were not so interested,” she said. 

Merkel assures that now she, too, is “very worried” about Ukraine. 

“I tried to prevent this situation with what was at my disposal. The fact that it did not work is not proof that this attempt was wrong,” the ex-chancellor said.

Commenting on the realities of the domestic agenda in Germany, Merkel lamented that climate protection issues are “going by the wayside” because of the war in Ukraine.

Merkel’s role in the settlement in Donbass

Germany was one of the main participants in the so-called Minsk process, which was supposed to resolve the Russian-Ukrainian conflict by diplomatic means. Merkel was also a long-term member of the Normandy Format, a negotiating group made up of the leaders of Ukraine, Russia, Germany and France, which set the direction for the Minsk process.

At the same time, Merkel has been the main proponent of expanding economic cooperation with Russia after 2014, including the construction of Nord Stream 2. Later, the German press called this decision the main shame of Germany in recent years.

Also, it is Merkel who is considered the main opponent of providing Ukraine with a concrete action plan for joining NATO at the 2008 summit. Many experts and politicians believe that it was because of this that Russia eventually decided on aggression against Ukraine.

Finally, it is known that Merkel personally blocked any supply of weapons to Ukraine, even from third countries, right up to the last days of her post as chancellor, when Russia had already begun to gather troops to the Ukrainian borders.

(C)UNIAN 2023