- Former German Chancellor Angela Merkel said on Tuesday that she tried hard throughout her time in office to keep the situation in Ukraine from deteriorating to the point where it is now, but that she does not blame herself for failing to do so.
- Merkel remarked of the 2014 Minsk agreement with Russia, “That’s a terrible shame it didn’t work out.”
- Merkel, who led the West’s implementation of sanctions against Russia following its annexation of Crimea in 2014, said the Minsk deal had stabilised the situation and given Ukraine time to develop into what it is now.
Merkel said on Tuesday that she tried hard throughout her time in office to keep the situation in Ukraine from deteriorating to the point where it is now, but that she does not blame herself for failing to do so.
Merkel remarked on the 2014 Minsk agreement with Russia, “That’s a terrible shame it didn’t work out.” “However, I don’t blame myself for failing to try.” She made the comments during an ARD interview with a German journalist and novelist Alexander Osang.
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Merkel, who led the West’s implementation of sanctions against Russia following its annexation of Crimea in 2014, said the Minsk deal had stabilised the situation and given Ukraine time to develop into what it is now.
“What if no one cared in 2014 and Putin just kept doing what he was doing? That is something I do not want to know “she said.
Merkel said there was no justification for Russia’s “brutal disrespect for international law” in Ukraine, and said she had opposed a plan to admit Ukraine to NATO because she wanted to avoid escalation with Russia and Ukraine was not ready.
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