Angela Merkel justifies her anti-Putin stance

Former German Chancellor Angela Merkel set a new record in her relationship with President Vladimir Putin in her first major interview since her resignation.

He supported the sanctions, saying “there is no excuse” for Ukraine’s response to the 2014 annexation of Crimea. He also defended Ukraine’s opposition to joining NATO.

Merkel has been accused of undermining Germany by doing business with Russia. The North Stream 2 pipeline, which carries Russian natural gas directly to Germany, was built during his tenure as prime minister and was shut down before his successor, Prime Minister Olaf Scholz, invaded Ukraine on February 24th.

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Germany, which has been pushing for tougher sanctions following the challenge, is struggling to reduce Russia’s energy dependence without hurting its economy. But Merkel said Europe and Russia are neighbors who ignore each other. “We have to find a way to live together, despite all the differences,” he said. In an interview with ARD, he told German journalist and writer Alexander Osang that “aggression is not only unacceptable, it is also a big mistake in Russia.”

“If we quarrel for centuries over who owns what part of the land, we will only wage war,” he said. “It’s not an option at all.”
He defended Germany’s role in maintaining the Minsk peace process, aimed at imposing sanctions on Russia in 2014-15 in response to the annexation of Crimea and the end of the conflict in eastern Ukraine.

According to him, the peace process gave Ukraine time to develop into a state and strengthen its army. “I don’t have to blame myself for not doing enough,” he said. “I don’t think you need to say, ‘It’s wrong,’ so there’s nothing to apologize for,” he said.

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He opposed Ukraine’s accession to NATO in 2008 to avoid tensions with Russia, and Ukraine itself was unprepared for it. “This is not the Ukraine we know today,” he said. “The country is unstable and full of corruption.”

Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky, who withdrew from the NATO alliance after the invasion, despite widespread support from Western defenses, criticized Germany’s 2008 decision as “miscalculated”. Merkel, who resigned six months earlier, said she had “great respect” for Zelensky and admired the “courage and enthusiasm” of Ukrainians fighting for their country.