In 2008, there are many in NATO who advocate Ukraine's early admission. Germany and France refuse out of consideration for Russia. The FDP politician Strack-Zimmermann therefore sees former Chancellor Merkel as partly responsible for the war of aggression.
The chairwoman of the Defense Committee in the Bundestag, Marie-Agnes Strack-Zimmermann, has sharply criticized decisions made by ex-Chancellor Angela Merkel during her term in office. The FDP politician indirectly accuses the former chancellor of complicity in the Russian attack on Ukraine.
The fact that the Ukrainians did not get into NATO "was a big mistake made by the French and Angela Merkel at the time," said Strack-Zimmermann in an interview with RTL/ntv. At their summit in 2008, the NATO states promised Ukraine a speedy accession. The project failed because Merkel and then French President Nicolas Sarkozy spoke out against it - out of consideration for Russia. Merkel defended her decision after the Russian invasion, and she stands by it, a spokeswoman said in April last year.
Strack-Zimmermann derives a special responsibility from Germany from the behavior of the federal government at the time. One must stand by Ukraine after Russia's attack and support it with arms. But "the story of Angela Merkel will have to be rewritten, especially that of the last few years and the complete misjudgments," said Strack-Zimmermann.
The FDP politician does not believe that the war in Ukraine could last as long as the First or Second World Wars. "The war will definitely not last four or five years," she said RTL / ntv. Putin did not expect the broad and sustained support for Ukraine. "Putin thinks we're complete wimps," said Strack-Zimmermann.
