The invasion of the Russian army in Ukraine was not unexpected for the former Chancellor of Germany Angel Merkel, the ex-Chancell itself announced this in an interview with Der Spiegel.
“This was not a surprise. The Minsk agreements were destroyed. In the summer of 2021, after the meeting of the presidents of Biden and Putin, I wanted to create a separate European format of negotiations with Putin together with Emmanuel Macron on the EU Council. Some objected to this, and at I no longer had the strength to insist, because everyone thought about me: “In the fall, she will leave,” Merkel said.
Ex-Chancellor added that she had the same feeling during her last trip to the Russian capital. “So it was during my farewell visit to Moscow. The feeling was completely clear: from the point of view of the policy of the authorities, your time has passed. Only power is important for Putin. To this last visit, he also invited Lavrov, otherwise we saw each other more would face the eye, ”she continued.