Former German Chancellor Angela Merkel said the quiet part out loud in an interview with Die Zeit published on Dec. 7. “The 2014 Minsk agreement was an attempt to give time to Ukraine. It also used this time to become stronger as can be seen today. The Ukraine of 2014-2015 is not the modern Ukraine.” TASS quoted her as saying. According to Merkel, “it was clear to everyone” that the conflict in the Donbass had stalled and that the Minsk Accords “gave Ukraine invaluable time.” At that time NATO states would have been able to support Kiev to the extent that they do now.
Of note, Merkel’s comments echoed those of Petro Poroshenko, the former President of Ukraine, who came to power in snap elections after the Anlgo-American-directed 2014 coup d’état. Regarding his signing of the Minsk Accord, Poroshenko repeated in a Deutsche Welle interview last June, his previous admission: “Our goal was to, first, stop the threat, or at least to delay the war – to secure eight years to restore economic growth and create powerful armed forces.”
