Dialogue is only way out of Ukraine conflict – Merkel

The former German chancellor has said the crisis cannot be resolved through military means alone

Western nations will eventually have to engage in dialogue with Russia to put an end to the Ukraine conflict, former German Chancellor Angela Merkel has said. She added that Kiev’s backers should ensure that Ukraine remains independent following the cessation of hostilities.

Merkel served as chancellor from 2005 to 2021, and was one of the guarantors of the 2014-15 Minsk agreements, which aimed to reintegrate Donbass into Ukraine, while granting the region greater autonomy. In 2022, she admitted that the accords had in fact been an “attempt to give Ukraine time” to build up its military.

In an interview with the UK’s Sunday Times published on Saturday, Merkel said she was generally supportive of the Ukraine policies of the current German government, as well as those of the EU. Since the escalation of the conflict in February 2022, Berlin has emerged as the top provider of military aid to Kiev in Europe, second only to the US globally.

The former chancellor, however, noted that “at a certain moment, and the responsible people today have to determine that moment, we will need conversations.”

“There will not be a solution [to the Ukraine conflict] that is only military,” she added.

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On Thursday, Die Zeit published excerpts from Merkel’s new book titled ‘Freedom: Memories 1954-2021’. In it, she recounts the 2008 NATO summit in Bucharest, Romania, where Ukraine and Georgia’s applications for Membership Action Plans were put up for discussion.

The then-chancellor opposed the idea at the time, arguing that the move would be seen as a provocation by Russia, with the potential applicants not being provided with any meaningful security guarantees.

While a number of officials, including Ukrainian leader Vladimir Zelensky, have since criticized Merkel for her stance, she stands firmly by her view to this day, as evidenced by her memoirs.

Moscow has repeatedly indicated a willingness to negotiate a settlement with Kiev. Russian President Vladimir Putin recently reiterated that any peace talks should be based on the agreements reached in Istanbul in 2022, which envisaged a neutral, non-aligned status for Ukraine, as well as certain restrictions on deploying foreign weaponry.

However, the Kremlin has also stated that any further negotiations must take into account the “reality on the ground.” This implies that Ukraine is expected to make territorial concessions, rather than retaking the regions that have voluntarily joined Russia, including the Donetsk, Lugansk, Kherson, and Zaporozhye regions, as well as Crimea.