Merkel’s recent admission that “the 2014 Minsk agreement was an attempt to give time to Ukraine,” as well as to buy time for the NATO states that would not have been able to support Kiev to the extent that they do now. Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova had said last week that Merkel’s statements may justify “tribunals,” implying that the agreements were only negotiated as part of a longer arc designed as a war of aggression.
Global Times responded to Merkel’s revelations on Dec. 12 in an article titled, “Real intention behind Minsk agreements further destroys credibility of the West":
“The Minsk agreements intended to manage the Ukraine crisis and avoid escalating the conflict. Merkel actually confessed something Western politicians do not want to admit about the Minsk agreements: They were just a stopgap to buy time for Ukraine and the West, and Western countries have never put real effort into resolving the differences with Russia over the Ukraine crisis.
“What the former German leader stated tears down the last remaining bit of the ‘friendly’ mask some Western countries put on with Russia. In the eyes of some Western countries, Russia is just a diplomatic and political ‘alien.’ Moreover, under the influence of Washington, some view Moscow as a so-called threat due to its huge military power and political system that does not meet the ‘Western standard.’ As a result, these countries have never stopped suppressing Russia since the collapse of the Soviet Union.”
