Merkel said why she hindered Ukraine's NATO membership.

Merkel admitted that she slowed down Ukraine's accession to NATO

Former German Chancellor Angela Merkel stated that she hindered Ukraine's accession to NATO due to fear of Russia. In her memoirs 'Freedom', Merkel described her policy that prevented Ukraine from quickly joining the North Atlantic Alliance.

'The acceptance of a new member should bring more security not only to it but also to NATO... I considered it an illusion to assume that the MAP status would protect Ukraine and Georgia from Putin's aggression, that this status would have a deterrent effect, that Putin would passively accept the developments,'

Merkel opposed granting Ukraine and Georgia candidate status for NATO membership at the summit in Bucharest in 2008. She also noted that the presence of the Russian Navy in Crimea became a new risk factor.

Merkel also mentioned her meeting with U.S. President Donald Trump in 2017, during which she was asked about her relationship with Putin.

'In the following years, I had the impression that politicians with autocratic and dictatorial traits enchanted him,'

Angela Merkel's memoirs will be released soon. She served as Chancellor from 2005 to 2021 and became Germany's longest-serving Chancellor.

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