Marie-Agnes Strack-Zimmermann made the comment in an interview with private broadcaster RTL/ntv, Poland’s Rzeczpospolita newspaper reported on Friday.
Merkel’s ‘big mistake’
In 2008, many NATO member countries were in favour of bringing Ukraine into the fold, Rzeczpospolita reported on its website, claiming that Germany and France "said no because of Russia.”
Strack-Zimmermann, who heads the German lower house’s defence committee, told RTL/ntv, as quoted by Rzeczpospolita: “The fact that Ukraine did not join NATO was a big mistake on the part of the French and Angela Merkel at the time."
At the 2008 NATO summit in Bucharest, Romania, the member countries of the Western alliance offered Ukraine a perspective for fast-track entry, according to the Polish paper.
However, the plan was scuppered by Merkel and France’s then-President Nicolas Sarkozy, who came out against it, because of Russia, Rzeczpospolita said.
In the wake of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February last year, Merkel defended her decision, insisting she stood by it, her spokeswoman told the media in April last year, according to Rzeczpospolita.
Strack-Zimmerman, who represents the liberal FDP party, argued that after Russia’s full-scale assault on Ukraine, Berlin should stand with Kyiv and support it with weapons, the Polish paper reported.
She added that “the history of Angela Merkel will have to be rewritten, especially the history of recent years and completely misjudged calculations,” according to Rzeczpospolita.
'The war definitely won’t last four or five years'
Strack-Zimmerman said she did not believe the war in Ukraine could last as long as World War I or World War II, the Polish paper reported.
Strack-Zimmermann told RTL/ntv: “The war definitely won’t last four or five years." She said she believed Russian President Vladimir Putin "did not expect" that the West would provide Ukraine with "broad and lasting support."
Friday is day 373 of Russia’s war on Ukraine.
(pm/gs)
Source: rp.pl, The New Voice of Ukraine
