Russian President Vladimir Putin stated that German Ex-chancellor Angela Merkel’s statement about the Minsk agreements was completely unexpected and disappointing.
"Frankly speaking, I did not expect to hear this from a former federal chancellor, because I've always proceeded from the assumption that the German leadership is sincere with us,” Putin said.
The president added: “Yes, of course, it was on the side of Ukraine and supported it, but it still seemed to me that the FRG leadership always sincerely strove for a settlement on the principles that we had agreed on, which were achieved within the framework of the Minsk process."
In an interview with the German national weekly Die Zeit published on 7 December, Merkel called the conclusion of the Minsk agreements in 2014 a trial to give Ukraine the time to get stronger.
She also pointed out that the conflict was stalled and the problem had not been resolved, "but this was what gave Ukraine invaluable time."
On his part, the Russian leader highlighted that the special military operation in Ukraine could have started earlier but Moscow had hoped to reach a settlement within the framework of the Minsk agreements.
He asserted that Merkel’s words about the Minsk agreements "merely show that we did everything right from the point of view of launching a special military operation."
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