Published: Less than 20 min ago
Former German Chancellor Angela Merkel has been accused of being too soft on Russian President Vladimir Putin. In an interview, she defends her actions.
When it became clear that tensions around Ukraine were increasing, Merkel tried to act in the summer of 2021, she tells the German Der Spiegel. But by the end of her time as chancellor, she had lost authority to Putin, who no longer counted on her.
– The feeling was very clear. When it comes to power politics, I was done. For Putin, only power counts, says Merkel in the interview.
According to Merkel, the aim after Russia’s illegal annexation of Crimea in 2014 was to give Ukraine time to build up a defense and prevent a war. But in 2021, the hope of trying to influence was lost, even though both she and France’s Emmanuel Macron tried.
– In terms of foreign policy, we didn’t get a millimeter further.