Former Chancellor Angela Merkel has called on Ukraine and the country’s supporters to consider diplomatic solutions to end Russia’s war against it.
“Russia must not win this war,” Merkel emphasized on Thursday evening in Maybrit Illner’s talk show on the public broadcaster ZDF.
It is “not only in Ukraine’s interest, but also in our interest that Putin does not win this war.” As chancellor, she has done everything she can to prevent such an escalation, she said.
‘This is what he calls a blatant violation of international law [Russian President Vladimir Putin] has allied itself with Ukraine.”
However, the former Chancellor also stated that “diplomatic solutions must always be considered in parallel.” These did not need to be discussed now, but they did need to be discussed at the appropriate time, which she did not specify.
Merkel emphasized her support for what the German government is doing for Ukraine and suggested that it would not be easy for Ukraine to defeat its much larger neighbor Russia.
“Nevertheless, I support everything the international community is doing to put Ukraine in a good position.”
The AfD benefited from the asylum policy, but not from the only factor
Merkel, who admitted around 1 million refugees in 2015, mainly from Syria and other war-torn countries, admitted that the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) had “indeed become stronger” as a result.
But she noted that when she left office in 2021, the AfD had between 10% and 11% support – but today it is 18%.
“So something else must have happened in the meantime,” she said. Merkel said it “did not benefit us, the democratic parties” to discuss the refugee issue so much. This dispute has certainly not weakened the AfD.
The democratic parties must now provide solutions and not adopt the AfD’s agenda and language, she said, adding that there are many courageous people in Germany who are committed to freedom and democracy.
“And I hope that there is a sense of proportion and balance in the political confrontation in the coming election campaign, so that the democratic forces emerge stronger,” she said.
Merkel released her more than 700-page book ‘Freedom. Memories 1954 – 2021’ from.
