Former German Chancellor Angela Merkel

Angela Merkel - German politician, Chancellor of Germany.

Born on July 17, 1954 in Hamburg.

The family admitted that by the end of her term, her ability to influence Russian President Vladimir Putin had significantly weakened, the DPA reported.

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The Russian invasion of Ukraine 6036

"It was clear that I would not be chancellor for a long time, so I just have to admit that various attempts (to negotiate) last year were unsuccessful," she said in an interview with the German media group Editorialsnecwerk Deutschland.

Merkel, who has been Germany's chancellor for 16 years, was known for keeping in touch with Putin even during difficult times and trying to never cut off communication.

She resigned after last year's parliamentary elections.

Former Russian prime minister: Putin is not on his own

From a distance, Merkel said Putin no longer wanted to hold a summit in the so-called Norman format, which includes Russia, Ukraine, Germany and France.

"On the other hand, I also failed to create any additional Russian-European discussion format on European security issues to the already existing Normandy format," the former chancellor said. 

Asked to comment on whether she would hire to mediate the conflict, she said: "There is no such question at the moment."

The war began on February 24, so Merkel does not rule out the possibility that Putin waited for her to vacate before invading neighboring Ukraine.

The former chancellor said her departure may indeed have played a contributing role, but added other possible factors, such as "the French election, the withdrawal of troops from Afghanistan and the stalemate in the implementation of the Minsk agreements".

The Russian invasion of Ukraine

Angela Merkel

Russia-Ukraine war