POBNEWS24, Dhaka, June 10, 2022: Ukraine could have joined the Western military alliance NATO in 2006. But at the time, former German Chancellor Angela Merkel was an obstacle for Ukraine. His government claimed that Ukraine’s accession to NATO was tantamount to declaring war. But now many believe that Ukraine would have become a member of NATO if Merkel had not opposed it. And then Russian President Vladimir Putin did not dare to attack NATO member Ukraine.
Merkel stepped down as chancellor on December 6 last year. Russia has been invading Ukraine since February 24. Many see Merkel as the most effective person to stop this war. They also say that Putin’s diplomatic chemistry with Merkel is great.
Merkel appeared in public on Tuesday night for the first time since leaving power, the Guardian reported. He gave an interview to the German newspaper Der Spiegel while attending an event in Berlin. This is his first interview with a journalist after running the country for 17 long years. In 2006, a US-led plan for Georgia and Ukraine was adopted. But opposition to that plan has prevented Ukraine from becoming a member of NATO. Claiming that the decision was correct, Merkel said in an interview that “the country we know now, Ukraine, was not like that then. At that time Ukraine was divided in many ways. Even the reformist forces Tymoshenko and Yuschenko had differences. This means that the country’s democracy was not strong internally. At that time Ukraine was ruled by rich people.
Merkel also said she had no regrets about the way she handled Putin during her rule. “I would be very sorry if I could say that there is no point in talking to Putin,” he said. It is a pity that the talks (Putin-Merkel) did not work out well. But I will not blame myself for that. ‘
Merkel said Russia’s view of Ukraine’s accession to NATO was a declaration of war. Although he did not share Putin’s views, the former German chancellor said he knew what Putin was thinking. So he did not want to provoke Putin. He blocked Ukraine from joining the NATO alliance, citing its best interests. “You can’t become a member of NATO in a day or two,” Merkel said. It is a process. In the process, I learned that Putin would do something that would not be good for Ukraine. “
Then in 2014-15, the then President of Ukraine Petro Poroshenko signed the Minsk Agreement. Through this, he reached a political agreement with eastern Ukraine. But then the country was criticized for being forced to make many concessions due to its military backwardness.
Merkel said in support of the agreement that they had taken time for Ukraine. As a result of that agreement, tensions gradually eased and Ukraine had a chance to rebuild itself. This opportunity has created the present Ukraine.
The former German chancellor praised Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky for his wartime leadership. He says Zelensky is leading the new Ukraine.
At the beginning of the interview, Merkel outlined how she spent the week following her resignation. He said he would spend time listening to William Shakespeare’s Macbeth while walking along the Baltic Sea. The talks then turned to the Ukraine war. He was asked if Germany’s soft stance on the Kremlin encouraged Putin. Merkel said she had felt the geopolitical problems caused by the collapse of the Soviet Union during her 16-year rule. It was not possible to end the Cold War properly. Russia has always had this question.
Merkel said that in the last weeks after leaving power, she began to take the threat of Russian aggression seriously. At that time the current Chancellor Olaf Schultz was in the process of forming a government. At that time he was in Rome to attend the G20 summit. The former chancellor said: “It simply came to our notice then. We discussed this in detail. I understand that the Minsk agreement will not work anymore. ‘
While vehemently condemning Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Merkel also blamed the West for the war. “What happened is a huge mistake on the part of Russia,” he said. Violation of all international law. If we continue to fight from one century to another over who owns which territory, then the war will continue. I want to make it clear that I do not share Putin’s ideology. But we have failed to create a security structure that could prevent this war. We have to think about it too. ‘
“I don’t think Putin can be replaced by a trade embargo,” Merkel said. So while political co-operation was impossible, it seemed reasonable to have some economic connection with Moscow. Merkel acknowledges that European countries have failed to spend enough money on their military.
