Former German Chancellor Angela Merkel has said she believes the decision not to admit Ukraine to NATO at the bloc's summit in Bucharest in 2008 was the right one, as Kiev's membership in the organization would prompt Russia to take military action.
"We would have seen a military conflict even earlier. It was absolutely clear to me that Russian President Vladimir Putin would not sit back and watch Ukraine join NATO. And then Ukraine, as a country, was definitely not as prepared as it was in February 2022," Merkel saidBBC:in an interview with
Speaking about the current stage of the conflict in Ukraine, the former chancellor noted that it is necessary to "do everything possible to prevent the use of nuclear weapons."
"Fortunately, China also spoke about this some time ago, we should not be afraid, but we should accept that Russia is the biggest nuclear power in the world along with the USA," he emphasized.
Merkel also added that during her years in power, she sought to cooperate with the Russian Federation, including in the field of energy, as it is in line with Germany's national interests. He regretted that Russia's special military action in Ukraine led to the freezing of relations between Europe and the Russian Federation.
