“Former German Chancellor Angela Merkel believes she is being made a “scapegoat” for the war in Ukraine for her stance at a NATO summit in 2008 when she prevented Kyiv from getting a Membership Action Plan.”, — write: www.pravda.com.ua
Source: Merkel in an interview with the Spiegel publication on the occasion of the release of her memoirs, “European Truth”
Details: Merkel was asked if she felt that she was being made a scapegoat for the Russian-Ukrainian war because of her behavior at the 2008 NATO summit. To which the former chancellor replied that it’s “not just a feeling, it’s the truth.”
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“Volodymyr Zelensky, for example, called former French President Sarkozy and me to come to Buchi after the terrible massacre, apparently implying that our position in Bucharest was responsible for the deaths in Buchi,” Merkel said.
She noted that she “admires Zelensky for his courage and determination” during almost three years of war, but disagrees with him about Bucharest.
“I have warned again and again, including in Bucharest in 2008: Putin considers the collapse of the Soviet Union the greatest geopolitical catastrophe of the 20th century – and of course I do not share this point of view.
From this, he concludes that there is an existential threat to Russia and tries, wherever possible, to keep other former Soviet republics under control, inciting conflicts. I was right in my warning. Because Putin invaded Georgia back in 2008,” Merkel said.
When asked why Merkel did not draw any conclusions, if she was so clearly aware of what Putin is capable of, she replied that she had drawn conclusions.
“In my opinion, it was necessary to try to resolve conflicts with Russia peacefully. At the same time, we also strengthened the principle of deterrence… At the 2014 NATO summit in Wales, a goal was set for all countries to spend two percent of their gross domestic product on defense. I admit that the vigor with which it was progressing was limited,” she said.
In response to criticism that Merkel did not effectively prevent Putin’s aggression, did not strengthen Germany’s defense capabilities, did not supply weapons to Ukraine and did not rid Germany of dependence on Russian gas, the former chancellor replied that “many important moments are being forgotten today.” For example, the fact that Ukraine and Poland were fundamentally not against the import of Russian gas through their territory and receiving funds for it.
In an interview, Merkel said that Vladimir Putin had no intention of attacking Ukraine at the beginning of his presidency, and that his plan took shape over the years, including taking into account the behavior of the West.
Read also: A year without apologies: what Angela Merkel thinks about her failures at the head of the German government.