Photo: kremlin.ru
German Chancellor Angela Merkel said she realized in 2001 that she had serious disagreements with Russian President Vladimir Putin. According to her, this happened during his speech in German in the Bundestag in September of that year, when he spoke about the traditions of bilateral relations, about the contribution of Germans to the development of the Russian economy and culture and about ensuring global
In an interview with the Suddeutsche Zeitung that, first, for Putin, the collapse of the USSR was a “sad event,” while the Germans welcomed the end of the Cold War. The chancellor added that in those years she “could not even imagine that he would annex Crimea” and that on the border of Europe, in eastern Ukraine, “such military clashes will end.” Germany in the world and growing China. In this regard, she called on Berlin to “build our relationship strategically and intelligently.”