Former German leader Angela Merkel said her decision to step down as chancellor last year caused her to lose leverage with Russia in the months leading up to its invasion of Ukraine.
“The feeling was very clear: ‘In terms of power politics, it worked,'” Merkel said in a recent interview with German magazine Der Spiegel. According to Insider. “for [Russian President Vladimir] Putin, only strength matters.
Merkel resigned as chancellor in December 2021 after 16 years in the role. Less than three months after she officially retired, Russia invaded Ukraine, starting a war that has now lasted nine months.
She said, “I no longer had the strength to push my thoughts through because everyone knew ‘You’ll be gone by the fall’,” she said. The Guardian reported.
During the last months of her term in summer 2021, Merkel said she and French President Emmanuel Macron tried, unsuccessfully, to bring about talks between the EU and Putin over tensions with Ukraine.
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Merkel also noted that Putin chose to include Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov in his last meeting with her in August 2021, even though they had previously met privately.
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