Former German Chancellor (2005-2021) Angela Merkel said that she does not consider the decision to continue buying Russian gas after 2014 a mistake.
“I would say that I did what was possible for me at the time“, Merkel said at an event organized by the newspaper Die Zeit. At the same time, she emphasized that she had written in great detail about the gas pipelines "Nord Stream" and Nord Stream 2 in her book. “Looking back, I would say that it was not a mistake to receive cheap gas for a few more years“, the former German chancellor noted.
At the same time, she claims that it was not wrong to try to prevent a conflict between Russia and Ukraine, “which then failed“. “And then it was absolutely right to break off energy relations with Russia“, Merkel said. Kiev, according to her, was not against gas supplies from Russia to Europe, but wanted this gas to pass through Ukraine.
At the same time, Merkel expressed the opinion that, given the current situation in the world, European countries should stick together.
Earlier in an interview with the BBC, Merkel saidthat she did not regret that, against the will of Washington, she approved the construction of the “Nord Stream 2” gas pipeline.