Former German Chancellor Angela Merkel called in an interview with the Berliner Zeitung newspaper not to ignore Russia's interests.
A discussion should be held about Russia's interests“, the politician emphasized. She recalled that the West stopped discussing the Russian president's point of view on NATO expansion to the east and that was not good.
Merkel believes that diplomatic initiatives should be planned in advance so that they can be used at the right moment.
The former chancellor rejected criticism of her own decisions during her term from 2005 to 2021, regarding the "Nord Stream" project. She noted that in order to understand this, the analysis must focus on this period of time.
According to Merkel, the decision made should not be considered wrong if a different point of view now appears.
Earlier, the former German chancellor commented on the decision to continue purchasing gas from Russia after 2014 and called it correct. “I would say that I did what was possible for me at the time”, she said.