Angela Merkel says she wanted to hold European-level talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin last year before he invaded Ukraine, but ultimately concluded she could not influence him until he stepped down as chancellor, Reuters reported.

In one of the few interviews she has given since leaving politics, Merkel told reporters from Der Spiegel magazine that she and French President Emmanuel Macron planned to hold talks with Putin in the European Council, the European Union institution that brings together heads of state or the governments of the member states of the community bloc.

“But I no longer had the strength to force myself [discuțiile] because everyone knew, in the end: she is leaving in the fall,” Merkel told German journalists.

She officially handed over the chancellorship to Olaf Scholz late last year after 16 years in power, a bitter farewell for Merkel after her Christian Democrats suffered their heaviest electoral defeat in the party’s history in the September 2021 election.

Angela Merkel had already announced in October 2018 that she would not run for another term as chancellor, but the Christian Democratic Union and its allies in Bavaria have not been able to use the time to find a replacement that would convince voters.

Merkel says she does not regret political decisions

Speaking about her farewell visit to Vladimir Putin in Moscow last year and the opportunity to influence the Kremlin leader, Merkel, who grew up in East Germany and speaks fluent Russian, told Der Spiegel reporters that:

“In terms of power politics, you’re done. For Putin, only power is important.”

Meanwhile, Merkel said she did not regret the decision to end her political career, saying it was time for a “new approach” because of her government’s lack of progress not only on Ukraine, but also because of tensions and conflicts in Moldova, Georgia, Syria and Libya. .

Merkel also said in October that she had no regrets about the energy policies pursued by her governments during her 16 years in power, saying that “from the point of view of the era it was very rational and understandable” and that “you always act in the time when you are there “.

“Even during the Cold War, Russia was a reliable supplier of energy,” she added at a press conference in Lisbon, where she was the head of the jury for the climate change adaptation award.

The former chancellor of Germany makes a decision to block Ukraine’s accession to NATO

In another June interview with Der Spiegel, Merkel also defended her policy toward Russian President Vladimir Putin, saying she had nothing to apologize for.

According to her, it was in the interests of Germany to “find a modus vivendi with Russia so as not to end up in a state of war”, but “to be able to coexist despite all our differences”.

“It was appropriate to have at least commercial relations. And I will not apologize,” she said, unequivocally condemning the war of aggression launched by Vladimir Putin on February 24.

However, Ukraine imposed a considerable tax on his words.

In one of her first public appearances since stepping down as chancellor, Merkel said in a press release in early April that she also supports the decision taken at the 2008 NATO summit to block Ukraine and Georgia from joining NATO.

At that time, she, together with former French President Nicolas Sarkozy, opposed the accession of the two countries to the North Atlantic Alliance.

Merkel’s office issued a press release after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky invited her to visit the town of Bucha following the discovery of a massacre there by Russian troops.

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