If it weren't for the negotiations with Putin, Ukraine in its current form would no longer exist - Angela Merkel.
The former German chancellor has defended her decision to negotiate with Russian President Vladimir Putin in 2015 and called claims that the dialogue with Moscow was the wrong decision.
"Let's go back to 2015, when the Russians were ready to simply sweep Ukraine away. So it was absolutely necessary to try to get some kind of truce or at least some kind of agreement," Merkel said.
She also rejected criticism of the negotiations with the Russian president.
"When they now simply claim that it was a mistake to talk to Putin at all, I can only say: as far as I know, Ukraine in the form it is today simply did not exist anymore," emphasized Merkel.