The Chancellor who is out of service has been criticized for her Russia policy.
(Photo: imago images/Bernd Elmenthaler)
Dusseldorf Former Chancellor Angela Merkel (CDU) backed the decision not to admit Ukraine to NATO in 2008. “Federal Chancellor aD Dr. Angela Merkel stands by her decisions in connection with the 2008 NATO summit in Bucharest,” said a spokeswoman for Merkel on Monday at the request of the German Press Agency in Berlin.
At the same time, the ex-Chancellor supports international efforts to end the Russian war of aggression in Ukraine, she said. It is only Merkel’s second reaction since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine began on February 24. She had condemned Russia’s war of aggression in a statement. Since then, the former chancellor has faced massive criticism from Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.
“In view of the atrocities that are becoming visible in Bucha and other places in Ukraine, all efforts by the Federal Government and the international community to stand by Ukraine and to put an end to the barbarism and the war by Russia against Ukraine have the full support of the former Chancellor ‘ the spokeswoman continued.
Selenski had previously asked Merkel to travel to Bucha. More than 300 civilians were found dead there in the past few days. In the Kiev suburb, Merkel, like France’s ex-president Nicolas Sarkozy, can get an idea of their failed Russia policy.
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A few days earlier, Ukraine had reported that it had liberated Kiev suburbs from Russian troops. Videos from western news agencies showed dozens of bodies lying on the side of the road, some tied up. The images caused international shock. As a result, Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock (Greens) accused Russia of having committed war crimes.
Poland’s Prime Minister makes serious accusations against Merkel
At the 2008 NATO summit, the states promised Ukraine membership, but then backed down out of consideration for Russia. Merkel and Sarkozy blocked demands from other NATO partners for rapid accession.
Now Zelenskiy said: “I invite Ms. Merkel and Mr. Sarkozy to visit Bucha and see what the policy of concessions to Russia has led to in 14 years. You will see the tortured Ukrainians with your own eyes.” Ukraine blames Russian troops for the massacre. Moscow denies that.
The Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki has also accused the former Chancellor of having contributed to the strengthening of Russia. “Frau Chancellor, you have been silent since the beginning of the war. Germany’s policy over the past ten or fifteen years has meant that Russia now has a strength based on the monopoly on the sale of raw materials,” Morawiecki said at a press conference in Warsaw on Monday.
Even now, the federal government is braking within the EU when it comes to further sanctions against Moscow, Morawiecki said. This can be seen from the minutes of EU meetings. “Anyone who reads the transcripts will know that Germany is the biggest brake when it comes to more decisive sanctions.” He therefore appealed to the incumbent Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD) to reconsider his position on Russia.
“It is not the voices of the German companies, the German billionaires, who are now probably preventing you from further measures, that should be heard loudly in Berlin today,” said the national-conservative head of government. “It is the voice of these innocent women and children, the voice of the murdered, that should be heard by all Germans and by all German politicians.”
More: “This Is Genocide”: Shocked Reactions to Russia’s Alleged War Crimes