Angela Merkel, former German Chancellor, stated Tuesday that she did everything she could to stop the situation in Ukraine developing into the present state. She also said that she doesn't blame herself for not doing enough.
Merkel spoke out about the 2014 Minsk Agreement with Russia, saying, "It's quite sad that it didn't work out." Interview with Alexander Osang, a German journalist and author, was televised on ARD.
Merkel was the leader of the West's 2014 imposition of sanctions against Russia following its annexe of Crimea.
"What would have been the outcome if no one cared in 2014, and Putin just continued to be Putin? She added that she didn't want to learn about it.
Merkel stated that Russia's "brutal disregard for international law" in Ukraine was unjustified. She also said she was against any plan to allow Ukraine to join NATO as she wanted to avoid escalation with Russia.
"That was not the Ukraine we now know." She said that the country was not stable and was rife with corruption.
Merkel, a fluent Russian-speaker who grew up in East Germany's former communist East Germany (ex-communist East Germany), was criticised by the United States and others for her support of the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline. This pipeline is designed to bring Russian gas directly to Germany.
Former chancellor defends her support for trade with Russia. She said that Russia and Europe were neighbors who could not be ignored.
She stated that she had struggled with questions regarding the Soviet Union during her tenure in office, but it was impossible to end the Cold War.
She said, "We simply failed to create a security architecture that would prevent that."
Merkel, a conservative, made an innocuous statement after Russia invaded February. However, her silence has been a source of concern.
She was criticised for traveling to Italy in April after hearing about the atrocities in Bucha (near Kyiv) and instead of accepting an invitation to travel to Ukraine.
"Invited To Bucha, Driven to Florence", mass-selling Bild newspaper title a report about her visit.
The 67-year old Merkel stated that although she was aware of the controversy surrounding the trip, she wanted to clarify that she is no longer the Chancellor.
