Amid Ukraine war, Angela Merkel defends her Russia legacy, says there’s ‘nothing to apologise for’
- The former German chancellor insists she was not naive in her dealings with Putin, in her first major interview since stepping down
- The veteran leader had championed a commerce-driven, pragmatic approach towards Moscow that left her country heavily reliant on Russian energy imports
Former German chancellor Angela Merkel on Tuesday defended her policy of detente towards Moscow while in office, saying she had “nothing to apologise for” even as the Ukraine war casts a pall on her legacy.
In her first major interview since stepping down six months ago, Merkel insisted she had not been naive in her dealings with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
“Diplomacy isn’t wrong just because it hasn’t worked,” the 67-year-old said on stage in a Berlin theatre, in an interview broadcast on the Phoenix news channel.
She recalled her support for economic sanctions on Russia following its annexation of Crimea in 2014, and the German-French effort to keep the Minsk peace process for Ukraine alive.
“I don’t have to blame myself for not trying hard enough,” she said.
“I don’t see that I have to say ‘that was wrong’ and that’s why I have nothing to apologise for.”
