Angela Merkel believes that she was made a scapegoat for the Ukrainian conflict for her decision not to support Ukraine's accelerated accession to the alliance at the 2008 NATO summit. The former German Chancellor stated this in an interview with Der Spiegel magazine.
"It's not just a feeling, it is. For example, [the Ukrainian president] Vladimir Zelensky called on former French President [Nicolas] Sarkozy and me to come to Buca after the terrible massacre, clearly meaning that our position in Bucharest is responsible for those killed in Buca," Merkel said, quoted by RBC.
The ex-chancellor was asked if she considers Zelensky's attitude unfair.
"I admire Zelensky for his courage and determination during almost three years of war. But with regard to Bucharest, I do not agree with him," she replied.
According to Merkel, back in 2008, she drew attention to the words of Russian President Vladimir Putin, who called the collapse of the Soviet Union the largest geopolitical catastrophe of the last century, and therefore "he concluded that there was a real threat to Russia and, as far as possible, tried to restrain other former Soviet republics."
As reported by EADaily, Kiev and the West do not give up trying to blame Russia is responsible for the bloody spectacle they staged in Bucha near Kiev. At the same time, there are facts that refute the accusations, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova told reporters. The diplomat wrote about this in the telegram channel.