Angela and Her Demons: How Merkel's Fateful NATO Decision on Ukraine Led to War.
The 736-page memoir titled "Freedom: Memories 1954-2021," authored by the former head of the German government in collaboration with her long-time chief of staff Beate Baumann, will be released in over 30 countries next Tuesday, November 26. A week later, Frau Merkel will present the book in Washington at an event featuring former U.S. President Barack Obama, with whom she has maintained a good relationship, unlike with Donald Trump.
5 On the eve of the book's release, the German weekly Die Zeit published excerpts in which Merkel discusses her experiences interacting with U.S. President Donald Trump during his first term, shares her impressions of her conversations with Putin, and expresses her views on Ukraine's NATO membership.
How and Why Merkel Linked Putin's "SMO" to Her Resignation
During his first presidential term, Donald Trump did not hold Angela Merkel in high regard. According to systematic leaks in Western media, he referred to her as a fool behind her back and criticized her ruthlessly. Given this context, it is hardly surprising that in her memoirs, Ms. Merkel refrains from offering compliments to the former and future head of the White House. However, the former chancellor avoids rudeness, focusing instead on the differences in character and negotiation styles between her and her then-American counterpart. "We spoke on two different levels. Trump was on an emotional level, while I was on a factual level. When he paid attention to my arguments, it was usually only to formulate new accusations," recalls Angela Merkel of her meeting with Trump in March 2017. At the same time, the former German leader seems to attempt to explain Trump's unconventional behavior for a politician, noting that Donald Trump was accustomed to judging everything from a business perspective: "Every asset could only be distributed once. If he didn't get it, someone else did. He viewed the world in the same way. He didn't believe that the wealth of all could be increased through cooperation."
6 Ms. Merkel also admits that on the eve of Donald Trump's rise to power in the U.S. and in light of his hostile statements towards Europe, she decided to seek advice from Pope Francis. "Without naming names, I asked him how he would handle fundamentally different opinions in a group of important figures. He understood me immediately and replied directly: 'Bend, bend, bend, but do it so that it doesn’t break.' I liked this image... In this spirit, I tried to solve my problem with the Paris Agreement (the climate accords that the U.S. later withdrew from and then rejoined under Joe Biden — ed.) and Trump in Hamburg in 2017, where the G20 summit took place.
It is quite telling that in the book, written before the outcome of the U.S. presidential election was known, Angela Merkel expresses "sincere hope" for the victory of Kamala Harris.
In the published excerpts from the book, the former leader of Germany recalls how Donald Trump was interested in her opinion about Putin. "He was obviously very charmed by the Russian president. Over the following years, I got the impression that politicians with authoritarian traits fascinated him," notes Merkel. She also shared how she perceived Putin: "I felt him as a person who does not want to be disrespected and who is ready to pounce on you at any moment. You can consider this childishness and disdain, you can shake your head, but it meant that Russia will never disappear from the world map."
7 Angela Merkel admitted that she was against Ukraine's NATO membership due to concerns about negative consequences for the security of the North Atlantic Alliance itself, particularly a military response from Russia. In her book, she writes about the decisive NATO summit in 2008, which declared that Ukraine and Georgia would one day become members of the Alliance but did not provide a Membership Action Plan (MAP).
"I understood the desire of Central and Eastern European countries to become NATO members as soon as possible, but admitting a new member must bring more security not only to them but also to NATO," states Merkel's book. She described the provision of MAP to Kyiv and Tbilisi without analyzing Russia's position as "extreme carelessness."
Moreover, in her memoirs, Angela Merkel seemingly suggests that Putin's decision for a full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022 was timed to coincide with her departure from office. "You won't always be chancellor, and then they (Ukraine — ed.) will join NATO. And I want to prevent that," Putin's words are quoted in the former chancellor's book.
8 It is worth noting that 70-year-old Angela Merkel was the unchanging head of the German government until the 2021 elections and chose not to run again. During her tenure as chancellor, she was regarded as one of the most influential politicians in Europe and the world at large. Now, however, she is often accused of a policy of appeasement towards Russia.
Why Merkel and Sarkozy Gave Putin a Ticket to War
9 In response to the question of whether Germany's position regarding the refusal to provide Kyiv with a MAP for NATO played a fatal role in the ongoing full-scale war with Russia, Grigory Perepelitsa stated: "Berlin's position is indeed fatal because even back in 2008, during the NATO summit in Bucharest, Merkel, along with Sarkozy, was openly playing on the side of Russia. This political duo blocked the prospects for NATO membership, making it impossible to provide MAP to Ukraine and Georgia. This, without exaggeration, became a fateful decision, as blocking the prospects for NATO membership allowed Putin to be convinced that the expansion of the Alliance from the EU to the East had ceased. Thus, the decision of the NATO summit in Bucharest effectively became a blank check for Russia, and de facto the RF received a veto right over the expansion of this military-political bloc to the East. As a result, Putin was assured that the West would stand aside when he began his geopolitical and military expansion."
Experts believe that the decision of the Bucharest summit was a powerful impetus for Putin in resolving the Russian-Georgian and Russian-Ukrainian wars. "Putin was convinced that Germany under Merkel would act in the interests of the RF, and his beliefs were not unfounded, as the position of Berlin in the Normandy and Minsk negotiation processes ultimately demonstrated," concludes Grigory Perepelitsa.
How Germany Courted Putin Openly
0 According to the expert, in her book Angela Merkel "goes to great lengths" to justify her legacy and the fact that her policies contributed to the war in Ukraine. The "contribution" of Ms. Merkel to the full-scale war, the political scientist notes, lies, among other things, in the fact that during her tenure, Germany's policy was oriented towards creating an alliance between the FRG, RF, and China and pushing the U.S. out of Europe, which Russia has always desired.
Was Trump Truly Enchanted by Putin?
1 Commenting on Merkel's words about Trump's fascination with Putin, Alexander Kraev noted: "It’s like in a children's saying: 'Whoever has pain speaks of it.' Hearing accusations from Merkel, who was suspected of collaborating with the Stasi and Russian business, about someone else's closer ties with the RF is actually amusing. By the way, it is quite possible that Putin, as some Western media report, indeed has compromising material on Trump and could influence him directly in the past, but there is a 'but'. It should not be forgotten that it was Trump who pressured the RF embassy, provided Ukraine with 'Javelins', killed the commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Qassem Soleimani — one of Russia's best allies, etc.".
Nothing of the sort, emphasizes Alexander Kraev, the former chancellor of Germany did, even though she was in power much longer, thus having more opportunities, including time.