Former German Chancellor Angela Merkel said in her latest interview that one of the main reasons for the start of the military conflict between Russia and Ukraine was allegedly the coronavirus. According to Merkel, the coronavirus made one-on-one consultations and meetings between the European Union leaders and the Russian president impossible, thus deepening the crisis.
Of course, due to the coronavirus, countries went into lockdown and the number of meetings between leaders decreased. However, when the coronavirus began, the war had not yet started, and at the date when Putin's decision to attack Ukraine was made, the disease was tending to subside. True, during the coronavirus years, Putin preferred to operate in closed settings. But that does not mean that if there had been no coronavirus and the Kremlin owner had met frequently with his European counterparts, the Russian president would not have given the order to attack Ukraine.
Nothing would have stopped Putin. Was there coronavirus in 2014? Putin annexed Crimea that year. Could European leaders, including Merkel, who frequently met with the Russian president that year, stop him? That's why coronavirus is an excuse.
It is also hard to agree with Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić’s opinion that “if Merkel had remained in office, she would have prevented the conflict in Ukraine.” Putin met frequently with Merkel and it was during Merkel’s chancellorship that the Kremlin owner decided to subdue Ukraine. This somewhat resembles the opinion repeated almost every week by former US President Donald Trump: “If I were president, not Biden, there would be no Russia-Ukraine war.”
Trump is now president, so can he stop the war? Trump invited Putin to Alaska, they met, the White House hosted hoped at least a ceasefire would be declared, but on the contrary, the Kremlin owner decided to expand the war.
Elkhan Shahinoglu,
political analyst
