Angela Merkel, at the end of her term as German Chancellor, no longer saw an opportunity to influence Russian President Vladimir Putin, writes Der Spiegel magazine.

As Merkel noted, in the summer of 2021, after the meeting of U.S. and Russian presidents Joe Biden and Vladimir Putin, she and French leader Emmanuel Macron wanted to create an independent European format for discussion with the Russian head of state in the Council of the EU.

According to Merkel, a number of politicians objected, and she did not have the strength to defend her point of view because everyone knew that she would leave the post of Chancellor of Germany in the fall. According to the former head of the Cabinet, she tried to talk to her colleagues, but they said the task was too big for them, reports DW.

Merkel added that if she had taken office again in September, she would have continued to pursue her line. But, according to the former chancellor, she clearly felt that "politically, her time had passed." This was also the case during the head of the Cabinet's last visit to Moscow in August 2021.  Merkel said for Putin, all that matters is power. He also took Lavrov with him to this last meeting, but in general they met more often in private.