Former German Chancellor Angela Merkel said she was ready to mediate in a peaceful settlement of the conflict between Russia and Ukraine. She spoke about this in an interview with RedaktionsNetzwerk Deutschland (RND).

Merkel said that before her departure from politics, she tried to prevent the Ukrainian crisis, but did not succeed in this. At the same time, the ex-chancellor does not believe that Putin was waiting for her resignation in order to start a war. In her opinion, leaving the post of chancellor could be just one of the factors along with the elections in France, the withdrawal of troops from Afghanistan, and the stagnation in the implementation of the Minsk agreements.

“On the one hand, Putin was no longer ready for the Normandy format summits. On the other hand, I did not succeed in creating an additional discussion format for Russia and Europe on the order of European security in parallel with the Normandy format,” she said.

Merkel clarified that right now her role in the talks is not yet discussed.

The ex-chancellor gave her first comment about the war only at the beginning of June. She called Russia's attack on Ukraine a "barbaric war" and said she stood in solidarity with the Ukrainian people. Merkel noted that civilians are dying because of the war: "An example of this horror is Bucha."