Angela Merkel defends her record on Putin

Six months after stepping down as chancellor, which he held from 2005 to 2021, Angela Merkel spoke out on Russia’s invasion of Ukrainehis political relations with his Kremlin counterpart, Vladimir Putin, as well as his handling of foreign policy during his tenure as head of the German executive.

He did so in his first public appearance since stepping down as chancellor, being held at the Berliner Ensemble theater in the German capital. in his statements He alluded to the Minsk Accords, the protocol by which Russia and Ukraine sought to end the conflict that began in 2014, and in which France and Germany played a fundamental role. “I don’t see why I should now say it was wrong, so I won’t apologize,” he first said.

In addition, another of the decisions that now weighs on the future of the German economy is the decision on the supply of gas, a hydrocarbon on which they depended from Russia with the construction of the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline, closed by Moscow in as a result of the war in the Ukrainian country. In the months leading up to the conflict, the volume of Russian gas imports by Berlin exceeded 50%. Now, with the end of the supply, Berlin is forced to look for a medium and long-term alternative.

Merkel justified that, despite the differences between the two countries, all the measures adopted by her government aimed to seek a common space through which Russia and Germany they could coexist. “Among our interests, for example, was the need to find a modus vivendi with Russia so as not to find ourselves in a state of war,” he said. On the other hand, she said she was not sorry for Berlin’s refusal to allow Ukraine to join NATO.

“Kosovo’s independence, Bush’s missile shield and NATO’s action plan to admit Ukraine have greatly disappointed Putin. I didn’t want to provoke his anger anymore.“Defended the former Minister of Foreign Affairs. Preventing the entry into the Atlantic Alliance of the country chaired by Volodímir Zelensky was one of the main objectives of the Russian president, especially in the moments leading up to the start of the war last February.

“Putin’s hatred goes against the Western democratic model”

On the other hand, Merkel harshly accused the Russian president, whom she accused of going “against the Western democratic model” because of their “hatred and enmity”. He also said the attack by Russian troops is “a brutal disregard for international law, for which there is no excuse.”

Finally, he claimed to have “the greatest respect” for Zelensky and defended the management led by his successor in power, the social democrat Olaf Scholz. The current chancellor has made headlines in recent weeks for the country’s historic turnaround in foreign and defense policy, investing more than 100 billion euros in modernizing Germany’s armed forces.