Former German Chancellor Angela Merkel answered journalist Alexander Osang’s questions at the “Berliner Ensemble” hall and made public statements on the agenda for the first time after handing over her post to Olaf Scholz on 8 December 2021.
Answering questions about the war between Russia and Ukraine, Russian President Vladimir Putin and herself, Merkel said, “I feel good. In general, I thought that the time after the end of my term would be different. February 24 was a turning point and this keeps me busy.” said.
Merkel, condemning Russia’s war against Ukraine, said, “This attack on Ukraine on February 24 has no justification. This is a brutal attack that violates international law with no excuse.” used the phrase.
Describing her meeting with Putin in Sochi in 2007, Merkel said that Putin told her that the collapse of the Soviet Union was the worst thing to happen in the 20th century. Merkel said, “I told her that this was a lucky situation in my life. So I achieved freedom, I was able to do things that gave me pleasure and joy. It was clear that there was a great difference of opinion on this issue. This difference of opinion developed further. In those years, the real end of the cold war.” failed.” made its assessment.
Noting that she did not share Putin’s views, Merkel described Russia’s attack on Ukraine as a “big mistake” and said, “We did not succeed in creating a security architecture to prevent this war.” he said.
DEFENDED THE POLICY I FOLLOWED WITH RUSSIA
Former Chancellor Merkel stated that she also asked herself the question about what she neglected during her tenure and said, “Could more have been done or prevented to prevent such a tragedy? That’s why I’m being asked these questions, and of course I ask myself these questions over and over again.” said.
Defending the policy she followed regarding Russia and Ukraine during her premiership, Merkel said, “Now I don’t see anything that I can say was wrong. Therefore, I will not apologize.” used the phrase.
Angela Merkel, rejecting the evaluations that she was tolerant towards Russia during her tenure, said, “It is not wrong because diplomacy has failed.” made its assessment.
Explaining that her relationship with Putin deteriorated after the annexation of Crimea in 2014 and she did not act purely towards Putin, Merkel told the people she spoke to, “You know that he (Putin) wants to destroy Europe. He said he wanted to destroy the European Union (EU) because it sees it as the preliminary stage of NATO.
Merkel noted that during her premiership, she worked hard enough to avoid escalation of tensions with Russia, but that it was unfortunate that this could not be achieved.
“NO THING TO TALK WITH PUTIN”
Merkel stated that she trusts the new government established in the country in foreign policy, “I can’t even think of not trusting the current federal government.” said.
Asked whether she would meet with Putin and become a mediator, Merkel said, “My understanding of duty is that I will not do anything that the German government does not want me to do.” gave the answer.
Pointing out that she did not expect the German government to contact her on this matter, Merkel said, “I do not have the impression that this will do any good at the moment. In my opinion, there is not much to talk about right now, especially without Ukraine.” made its assessment.
HE SAID IT WAS NOT HIS DUTY TO COMMENT FROM THE SIDE
Making statements about why she did not talk about current issues after leaving her job as Prime Minister, Merkel stated that she should be careful when she says something about current issues because she is the former prime minister, and that it is not her duty to comment from the sidelines.
Merkel explained that in her 30-year political life, she constantly ran from appointments to appointments, and that for 16 years, every issue that was somehow important for Germany passed over her desk, reminding that she had never shirked responsibility, but that she had said before that she would rest and distance herself from events after leaving office.
trembling seizures
Merkel, who made a statement about her tremors towards the end of her term, stated that the first reason for these tremors was that she was very tired after her mother’s death and she was very affected by it, and the other reason was related to drinking very little water.
Merkel explained that she put a chair next to her because she was afraid of such situations.
Former Chancellor Merkel had tremors for the first time in June 2019 when she welcomed Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy with a ceremony at the prime minister’s office, and then this situation was repeated twice. Merkel then took precautions against this situation and listened to the national anthems by sitting on a chair at the ceremonies.
Source: AA