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Angela Merkel comes out of the shadow. He believes that the COVID-19 pandemic contributed to Putin's decision to invade

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About Putin, Trump, the migration crisis – Angela Merkel gave an extensive interview to CNN. The former German chancellor is in the United States, where she is promoting her autobiography “Freedom” – and she is helped by, among others, Barack Obama.

Angela Merkel left politics almost exactly three years ago. Since then, she has avoided television cameras, interviews and public life. Now she has agreed to talk to CNN journalist Christiane Ammanpour. There had to be a question about the migration crisis in 2015 and the decision to admit over a million refugees, mainly from Syria, to Germany.

– It was simply unthinkable to me that people who are in need, in danger, are standing on the border of our country and we would send water cannons to get rid of them. And the next Sunday I would give a speech about values, human dignity and so on, says Angela Merkel, Chancellor of Germany in 2005-2021.

Merkel on Trump: he senses when people are afraid of him

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There must also have been a question on American television about Donald Trump – including the situation from years ago when the then American president did not shake hands with the German chancellor. Merkel has a strong opinion about Trump.

– When you approach him without fear and with a clear strategy, he listens. He senses when people are afraid of him. And if you are not afraid, then you can have a good conversation with him, says Angela Merkel.

The former German chancellor comes out of the shadows to promote her book “Freedom”, which was published simultaneously in 30 countries.

READ ALSO: Angela Merkel published her memoirs. Gallant gestures of Lech KaczyÅ„ski, “straightforward” Tusk

In one of the most interesting threads of her memoirs, Merkel points out that one of the reasons for the Russian attack on Ukraine was the COVID-19 pandemic, because it caused Putin to stop talking to Western leaders.

– The pandemic, in a sense, was the nail in the coffin of all diplomatic attempts because Putin had a phobia. He didn't want to get infected with Covid, so he didn't want to enter into diplomatic talks, he didn't want to meet anyone, says Angela Merkel.

Does Merkel regret anything?

Putin is a liar, says Merkel today. However, it does not explain why, after the annexation of Crimea, Germany still maintained close relations, mainly economic ones, with Russia.

– At the beginning of my work as chancellor, he did not tell these blatant lies. But later, after the annexation of Crimea, he himself admitted that he had lied to me about it. And that was a turning point in our relationship, I started to be extremely cautious in my approach to him. He cannot be trusted, stresses Angela Merkel.

Putin brought his dog to his meeting with Merkel. Archival videoReuters Archive

Barack Obama helps Angela Merkel promote her book on the American market. The former president led a meeting with the former chancellor in one of Washington's bookstores. Obama was interested, among other things, in the perspective of a person raised behind the Iron Curtain, in the GDR.

– I was a great advocate of the market economy. because I grew up in socialism, in a centrally controlled economy. I hoped that companies could work responsibly, but I came to the conclusion that banks, with their machinations, had brought the world to the brink of the abyss. And ultimately, states had to step in to save the situation, says Angela Merkel.

When asked if she regrets anything, Merkel replies – each decision was made in specific conditions and context, today the past cannot be assessed in isolation from the past realities.

Facts about the World TVN24 BiS

Main photo source: CNN



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