“The Cold War never ended”, Angela Merkel has said as she admitted she should have spent more money on Germany’s military while chancellor.
In her most critical comments yet on her own legacy, Ms Merkel conceded that “we should have reacted more quickly to Russia’s aggressiveness,” saying she took personal responsibility for not “making impassioned speeches about it every day”.
“The Cold War never really ended because Russia was basically not satisfied,” Ms Merkel told Die Zeit newspaper.
After the Russian annexation of Crimea in 2014 Germany raised its military spending but never reached the NATO spending target of two percent of GDP under her watch.
In the interview she conceded that this had weakened her ability to negotiate with Vladimir Putin, saying she “didn’t do enough” to deter Mr Putin by modernising the German military.
But the former Chancellor refused to repent from the energy policies which led Germany to deepen its reliance on Russian gas, particularly through the North Stream pipelines under the Baltic Sea.
Arguing that alternative sources of energy would have been too expensive, she said that buying elsewhere would have been “a massive political decision” that “wouldn’t have been accepted”.
She added that blocking the Nord Stream 2 pipeline would have “dangerously damaged” relations with the Kremlin at a time when Berlin was trying to mediate a ceasefire in the east of Ukraine.
Any admission of fault would be disingenuous, she insisted, claiming that it would be “pathetic” to show contrition “just to have peace of mind”.
Meanwhile, Olaf Scholz has said that he plans to have a European air defence system up and running within five years.
He told French newspaper Ouest-France that his government is “talking to the manufacturers of the various systems to get ready for concrete decisions”.
The air defence system, the so-called European Sky Shield, has the backing of Germany and more than a dozen other NATO countries.
The weapon systems under consideration include German IRIS-T, Israel’s Arrow 3 system, and the U.S. Patriot system.
You think? Wow glad Germany is remembering that!
A more diverse energy supply would have been a good idea as well. It would have reduced the impact of wholesale gas prices for a lot of Europe.
Merkel was in control for 16 years, what did she do?
No Sh*t Sherlock!
it’s kind of a weird way to put it. the ussr definitely collapsed and cold war definitely ended.
geopolitics in 1990-2020 where clearly **completely** different from 1960-1990
Hindsight is 20/20. While she never said anything negative about the Bundeswehr publicly, a lot of people got the impression that she disguises the armed forces secretly; her bizarre choice of defense secretaries confirms that in my opinion.
We already know, Angela, you don’t have to tell us what color the sky is.
Merkel’s thinking: Why should I spend money on Germany’s defense, when I know the Americans will protect us?”
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“The Cold War never ended”, Angela Merkel has said as she admitted she should have spent more money on Germany’s military while chancellor.
In her most critical comments yet on her own legacy, Ms Merkel conceded that “we should have reacted more quickly to Russia’s aggressiveness,” saying she took personal responsibility for not “making impassioned speeches about it every day”.
“The Cold War never really ended because Russia was basically not satisfied,” Ms Merkel told Die Zeit newspaper.
After the Russian annexation of Crimea in 2014 Germany raised its military spending but never reached the NATO spending target of two percent of GDP under her watch.
In the interview she conceded that this had weakened her ability to negotiate with Vladimir Putin, saying she “didn’t do enough” to deter Mr Putin by modernising the German military.
But the former Chancellor refused to repent from the energy policies which led Germany to deepen its reliance on Russian gas, particularly through the North Stream pipelines under the Baltic Sea.
Arguing that alternative sources of energy would have been too expensive, she said that buying elsewhere would have been “a massive political decision” that “wouldn’t have been accepted”.
She added that blocking the Nord Stream 2 pipeline would have “dangerously damaged” relations with the Kremlin at a time when Berlin was trying to mediate a ceasefire in the east of Ukraine.
Any admission of fault would be disingenuous, she insisted, claiming that it would be “pathetic” to show contrition “just to have peace of mind”.
Meanwhile, Olaf Scholz has said that he plans to have a European air defence system up and running within five years.
He told French newspaper Ouest-France that his government is “talking to the manufacturers of the various systems to get ready for concrete decisions”.
The air defence system, the so-called European Sky Shield, has the backing of Germany and more than a dozen other NATO countries.
The weapon systems under consideration include German IRIS-T, Israel’s Arrow 3 system, and the U.S. Patriot system.
You think? Wow glad Germany is remembering that!
A more diverse energy supply would have been a good idea as well. It would have reduced the impact of wholesale gas prices for a lot of Europe.
Merkel was in control for 16 years, what did she do?
No Sh*t Sherlock!
it’s kind of a weird way to put it. the ussr definitely collapsed and cold war definitely ended.
geopolitics in 1990-2020 where clearly **completely** different from 1960-1990
Hindsight is 20/20. While she never said anything negative about the Bundeswehr publicly, a lot of people got the impression that she disguises the armed forces secretly; her bizarre choice of defense secretaries confirms that in my opinion.
We already know, Angela, you don’t have to tell us what color the sky is.
Merkel’s thinking: Why should I spend money on Germany’s defense, when I know the Americans will protect us?”