"I told Putin that the collapse of the USSR was one of the best events in my life"
Angela Merkel gave her first interview on June 7 this year after stepping down as German chancellor at the end of 2021.
Merkel, among other things, responded to criticism leveled at her after the entry of Russian troops into Ukraine. Back then, many people (including the Ukrainian authorities) said that, as chancellor, she was engaged in “appeasement” of Vladimir Putin and that empty promises of Ukrainian membership in NATO only worsened the situation.
On whether war could have been prevented
Diplomacy is not a mistake just because it failed. So I don't understand why I have to say it was a mistake and I won't apologize. But we failed to create a security architecture that could prevent war. Could more have been done to prevent this tragedy? I keep asking myself these questions. It is a great sorrow that this did not succeed, but I cannot reproach myself for not trying.
On the unwillingness to start the process of Ukraine's accession to NATO in 2008
President Zelenskiy is fighting valiantly against corruption, but in those years Ukraine was indeed ruled by oligarchs. You couldn't just say, "Okay, tomorrow we'll let them into NATO." It was not the Ukraine we know today. It was a very, very politically divided country. It was not a stable democracy. When you let a country into NATO - and the “NATO membership action plan” implies this. - you should know that they are ready to defend their country in case of attack.
Secondly, I was sure that Putin would not let this happen. For him, that would be a declaration of war. I absolutely do not share his idea that the West is his enemy, that he is constantly humiliated. But I knew that he thought so, and did not want to provoke him.
These agreements were approved by the European Union and included in the UN Security Council resolution. They had the character of international law. At the time [in 2015], they helped calm the situation and gave Ukraine seven years to get where it is today. I don't know what would have happened if Putin had just kept invading in 2014 and nobody had done anything about it.
In 2007 in Sochi, he told me that the collapse of the USSR was the worst event of the 20th century. I told him that for me this is one of the best events in my life.
On trade relations with Russia
I was not naive and did not believe that Putin could be changed through trade relations with Russia. He wants to destroy the European Union because he sees it as the first step towards NATO. But if Russia and Europe cannot have close relations, then they must at least have trade relations, because one cannot completely ignore each other. Russia is the second largest nuclear power. I can't pretend it doesn't exist. The interests of the country that I ruled meant that it was necessary to find a way of life next to Russia, in which we are not at war and try to coexist despite all differences.