Former German chancellor Angela Merkel, who has been criticized since the beginning of the Russian invasion of Ukraine because of its proximity to Moscow, assured on Tuesday that she did not blame herself, but stressed that she already knew that Putin “wanted to destroy Europe.” .
In her first public speech after leaving office six months ago, the former ruler explained that, for example, in the summer of 2021 failed to implement the European initiative to return Russian President Vladimir Putin to the negotiating table.
However, looking back, Angela Merkel refers to a certain “calmness” in the knowledge that he did his best to avoid the situation. and that he has full confidence in the leadership of his successor, Olaf Scholz.
To accusations that she naively believed that Russia could change through trade relations with the West, Merkel stressed that never had “illusions”, but could not act as if neighboring country “did not exist”. The former chancellor, speaking at a lecture in Berlin organized by Editora Aufbau, stressed that I already knew then that Putin “wanted to destroy Europe.”but what about entering into open conflict it was necessary to “try everything diplomatically”.
Merkel summarized her policy towards the Kremlin (the Russian presidency) as an attempt to “find a modus vivendi.” [modo de viver] Where not if you were at war and trying to coexist despite differences“. For the former head of the government of Germany US sanctions on the construction of the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline caused him “irritation”, given that it was “done with a country like Iran, but not with an ally.” Nonetheless, praised President Joe Biden’s initiative to bury the problem in 2021.
Angela Merkel also defended the Bucharest summit decision in 2008. not to give Ukraine status of a candidate country for NATO membership, which at that time was not a “democratically strong” country and was “dominated by the oligarchs”. He added that, from Putin’s point of view, would be a “declaration of war”, to which he would react by causing great damage to Kyiv, in line with its policy of intervening in countries around Russia that were trying to turn to the West.
The Christian Democrat also recalled her personal meetings with Putin and recalled that at a meeting in 2007 in Sochi The head of the Russian state assured him that for him the collapse of the Soviet Union was the most terrible event of the 20th century. while for her, who was born in East Germany, it was “good luck” that gave her “freedom”.
“It was clear that there was a lot of dissent that was getting worse. All these years failed to end the cold war“, He is hot.
For Merkel, The Kremlin made a ‘catastrophic mistake’ with its invasion of Ukraine, “a brutal attack that violates international law and has no justification.” asked what do not condemn Russian culturebut that each work or artist must be judged separately, since not all of them are in line with Putin.
About her personal life after 16 years in power, Angela Merkel claimed that to stay longer in government would be “anachronistic”. and that leaving of one’s own free will is a “wonderful feeling”.
Despite the fact that he devoted the last few months to exercises and reading “thick books”, the former chancellor admits that expected his reform to be “different” and not marked by the “scar” of war.
with LUSA
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