The former Chancellor of Germany, Angela Merkel, expressed the opinion that the war in Ukraine could have started much earlier if in 2008 Ukraine received the prospect of NATO membership. According to her, Russian President Vladimir Putin would not have remained indifferent to this step, and Ukraine at that time would have been much less prepared for possible military conflicts.
In an interview with the BBC, Merkel noted that her decision to block the beginning of Ukraine's move to NATO helped to avoid conflict at that time. She believes that Ukraine's accession to the Alliance could provoke Russia much earlier, and Ukraine itself in 2008 was much weaker than in February 2022, when a full-scale war with Russia began.
"We would have seen a military conflict even earlier. It was clear to me that President Putin would not remain indifferent and would not watch Ukraine's accession to NATO. And then Ukraine as a country would definitely not be as prepared as it was in February 2022," said the ex-chancellor. In addition, Merkel expressed concern about the possibility of Russia using nuclear weapons. She emphasized the need to take all possible measures to avoid a nuclear conflict, stressing that Russia is one of the largest nuclear powers in the world, along with the United States. "Fortunately, China also talked about it some time ago. We should not give in to fear, but we should also recognize that Russia is the largest or, along with the US, one of the two largest nuclear powers in the world," Merkel said.
In her memoir Freedom: A Memoir 1954-2021, Angela Merkel also revealed details of NATO-related diplomatic efforts when Ukraine and Georgia applied for an action plan to join the alliance, but no such decision was made at the 2008 Bucharest summit. approved Merkel shared her frustration with the Russian president's self-confidence, which she said was evident back in 2007.
This memoir, in which the former chancellor talks about her political decisions and Germany's international policy, will be released on November 26 in more than 30 countries.
