BERLIN: Former German Chancellor Angela Merkel claimed she intended to meet Vladimir Putin a year before the Ukraine invasion, but ultimately did not think they had any potential to influence him after his term ended.

In an interview published Thursday by news outlet Spiegel, Merkel said she and French President Emmanuel Macron had discussed hosting an independent dialogue format with Putin within the European Council in 2021, which would be his final summer in office. .

Since everyone knew she would be leaving in the fall, I didn't have the strength to hold on any longer.

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After the German election in September 2021, Merkel officially resigned from politics after serving in office for 16 years.

 In December of the same year, Olaf Scholz of the Social Democrats took over as leader. In June 2021, US President Joe Biden met the Russian President.

Speaking fluent Russian, Merkel told Spiegel about her farewell visit to Moscow in August 2021: "The sentiment was very clear: 'In terms of power politics, you are through. Power is all that Putin has. matters to

Nevertheless, the former head of the conservative movement claimed it was "time for a new approach" to politics as his government had failed to make progress in conflicts not only in Ukraine but also in Moldova, Georgia, Syria and Libya.

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Kyiv can "end the suffering" of its people by complying with Russia's "requirements" to end the conflict, which it refers to as a special military operation against Ukrainian nationalists, according to the Kremlin on Thursday. He failed to specify what those demands were.

According to Ukraine, Russia's invasion was an unprovoked land grab that resulted in the deaths of thousands of civilians, the destruction of towns and cities, and the forced emigration of millions.

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It claims that the conflict will be resolved only after Moscow withdraws its forces from all of Ukraine, including the territories it has occupied since 2014.