During her tenure, former German Chancellor Angela Merkel tried to slow down the process of Ukraine's accession to NATO. She explained this by fearing a possible military response from Russia.
The 70-year-old politician told about this in her memoirs, an excerpt from which was published by Die Zeit, UNN reports.
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I understood the desire of Central and Eastern European countries to become NATO members as soon as possible. But the accession of a new member should not only increase its security, but also strengthen NATO as a whole
She added that at the time she saw risks due to the presence of the Russian Black Sea Fleet on the Ukrainian Crimean peninsula.
“No other candidate for NATO membership has ever had such a close relationship with Russian military structures. In addition, only a minority of Ukrainians supported membership in the Alliance at the time,” Merkel said.
The former chancellor also explained her position on the NATO Membership Action Plan for Ukraine and Georgia:
I thought it was an illusion to think that the status of a candidate for membership would protect against Putin's aggression, or that this status could deter him enough to make him accept such changes. Could it be seriously imagined that NATO member states would have responded with military action, either with equipment or troops? Could I, as Chancellor of Germany, ask the Bundestag for a mandate for the Bundeswehr and get majority support?
These statements explain Merkel's policy toward Ukraine, which is still criticized today. She has been accused of appeasing Russia, increasing energy dependence on Russian gas, and being unwilling to admit her mistakes during her tenure.
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The book will be published under the title “Freedom. Memoirs 1954-2021”. The official presentation of the book will take place in Berlin on November 26.
Recall
Merkel was first elected to the Bundestag in 1990 after German reunification. She represented the Christian Democratic Union and quickly gained influence in politics, becoming Minister of Women and Youth Affairs in Helmut Kohl's government.
UNN reported that former German Chancellor Angela Merkel will publish her memoirs in November, in which she will tell about the events of her life from 1954 to 2021, but will not pay attention to the events related to the Russian invasion of Ukraine.