Germany’s former federal Chancellor has acknowledged that at the end of her last term she no longer had enough influence in foreign policy matters, which partly explains why she failed to pave the way for resolving differences over Ukraine. Merkel was speaking in an interview with the Der Spiegel.

Angela Merkel recalls that in the summer of 2021, together with French President Emmanuel Macron, she was making plans for creating a European platform for negotiations with Russia.

“Some opposed this, and I no longer had the strength to push through this idea, because everyone was aware that in the autumn I would stepdown [as Chancellor. Had I made a decision to run again, I would have continued to press for this aim. But already during my farewell visit to Moscow, I had a clear feeling that from the point of view of government policy, I lagged behind. I had a chance to contest a fifth term, but I decided to leave politics. I did not regret it.

Toward the end, I could not move a millimeter forward on many foreign policy issues. This concerns not only Ukraine, but also to Transnistria, Moldova, Georgia, Abkhazia and Libya. At that moment I realized it was time for new approaches”, - said the former Chancellor.