Photo: parade.com Former German Chancellor Angela Merkel
“I hope that in ten years the war will be over. And thus Ukraine will become an independent, free, sovereign state,” Merkel said on air on German TV channel WDR 1LIVE.
The statement came amid ongoing discussions in Europe about possible mediators in negotiations between Russia and the West on the Ukrainian settlement. Merkel has previously rejected the idea of her participation as a mediator, saying that her previous contacts with Moscow were related to the powers of the current chancellor, which she no longer possesses.
According to The Guardian, in recent weeks the former German prime minister has urged Europe to make greater use of diplomatic channels in dealing with Russia, along with military support for Ukraine. She said that diplomacy should remain “the other side of the coin”, even in conflict.
Merkel, who led the German government from 2005 to 2021, has been repeatedly criticized since the fighting began for Berlin’s previous policies toward Moscow, including support for energy cooperation and the Nord Stream 2 project. In response, she said she acted based on the political and economic realities of the period.
Amid discussions about a possible timeline for a settlement, Bloomberg news agency previously reported that Moscow allegedly expects to end the conflict by the end of the year under certain conditions. Russian presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov denied this information, saying that Russia had not set specific deadlines for ending the conflict.
