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image source, EPA
Former German Chancellor Angela Merkel says she has “nothing to apologize for”.
Asked regarding her Russia policy when she was chancellor, which has come under fire recently in light of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the experienced politician defended her work.
In an interview, Merkel said she had no regrets for his government’s response to the annexation of the Ukrainian peninsula of Crimea by Russia in 2014.
He also defended his opposition while in office to Ukraine joining NATO.
Merkel has been accused of leaving Germany in a vulnerable position by seek trade relations with Russia.
The Nord Stream 2 pipeline to transport Russian natural gas directly to Germany was built while she was chancellor and only suspended by her successor, Olaf Scholz, before Russia invaded Ukraine on February 24.
Under pressure to impose tough new sanctions over the invasion, Germany is working to reduce its reliance on Russian energy without hurting its own economy.
But Merkel said that Europe and Russia son neighbors who don’t they can ignore: “We have to find a way to coexist despite all our differences,” he told the ARD radio station.
image source, Getty
Angela Merkel and Vladimir Putin meeting in Moscow in 2020.
The invasion of Ukraine “was not only unacceptable but also a big Russian mistake“, told the German journalist and writer Alexander Osang.
“If we start going back through the centuries and discussing which part of the territory should belong to whom, then we will only have war,” he said. “That is not an option at all.”
“Nothing to apologize for”
In the interview, which is the most important since the beginning of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Merkel defended the sanctions imposed by her government on Russia in response to the annexation of Crimea.
Also Germany’s role in the Minsk peace process, which was meant to end the fighting in eastern Ukraine in 2014-2015.
The peace process, he argued, gave Ukraine time to develop as a nation and strengthen its military.
“I don’t have to blame myself for not trying hard enough,” Merkel said. “I don’t see that I have to say ‘that was wrong’ and that’s why I have nothing to apologize for“.
image source, EPA
Merkel was the guest of journalist Alexander Osang.
As chancellor, also se opposed ahe income from Ukraine to NATO in 2008.
He said this was because he wanted to avoid escalation with Russia and because Ukraine itself was not ready to take the plunge.
“That was not the Ukraine we know today,” he said. “The country was not stable, it was riddled with corruption.”
the ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskywhose country remains outside the NATO alliance despite the extensive Western defense aid it has received since the Russian invasion, described Germany’s decision of 2008 as a “miscalculation“.
On Tuesday, Merkel, who left office six months ago, said she had “the greatest respect” for Zelensky and was impressed by Ukrainians’ “courage and passion” to fight for their country.
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