Merkel on Russia's attack on Ukraine: "I do not blame myself"
Former German Chancellor Angela Merkel said in her first interview since she resigned that she "does not blame herself" for Russia starting a war against Ukraine.
This was reported by Censor.NЕТ citing the "European Pravda".
Asked by Spiegel whether she could do more to avert the war in Ukraine, Merkel said: "I do not blame myself. It was not possible to create a security architecture that could prevent this."
"Could more have been done to prevent such a tragedy - I already believe that this situation is a significant tragedy - could it have been prevented? And that is why you are asking yourself this, and, of course, I still ask myself this question." said Mrs. Merkel.
At the same time, the ex-chancellor rejected the accusations of the Ambassador of Ukraine to Germany Andriy Melnyk that she was pursuing a policy of pacification towards Russia.
"I do not think so. Diplomacy, if it fails, is not wrong," Merkel said, adding that without the Minsk agreements, in her opinion, the situation in Ukraine would be even worse.
The former German Chancellor stressed that the same decision applies to her decision not to support Ukraine's 2008 NATO Membership Action Plan.
"I do not think I have to admit my mistake, and I will not apologize for this (decision)," Mrs. Merkel said.
