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Merkel says she lacked foreign policy influence as her term was about to end

Angela Merkel recalls that in the summer of 2021, together with French President Emmanuel Macron, she was making plans for creating a European platform for negotiations with Russia

BERLIN, November 24. /TASS/. Germany’s former federal chancellor, Angela Merkel (in office in 2005-2021), has acknowledged that at the end of her last term as the head of government she no longer had enough influence in foreign policy matters, which partly explains why she failed to pave the way for resolving differences over Ukraine. Merkel was speaking in an interview with the weekly Der Spiegel. Extracts from the conversation were published on Thursday.

Merkel recalls that in the summer of 2021, together with French President Emmanuel Macron, she was making plans for creating a European platform for negotiations with Russia.

"Some opposed this, and I no longer had the strength to push through this idea, because everyone was aware that in the autumn I would stepdown [as Chancellor]," Merkel said. "Had I made a decision to run again, I would have continued to press for this aim. But already during my farewell visit to Moscow, I had a clear feeling that from the point of view of government policy, I lagged behind," she added.

Merkel had had a chance to contest a fifth term, but decided to leave politics. She stated that she did not regret it.

"Toward the end, I could not move a millimeter forward on many foreign policy issues. This concerns not only Ukraine, but also to Transnistria, Moldova, Georgia, Abkhazia and Libya. At that moment I realized it was time for new approaches," Merkel said.

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