The CDU leadership has backed Angela Merkel in the discussion about whether the former Chancellor shared responsibility for the Russian attack on Ukraine.
"It would be presumptuous to claim that Angela Merkel is partly to blame for the war in Ukraine.
It is Putin's war against Ukraine and that of his criminal clique in the Kremlin," said CDU General Secretary Mario Czaja in an interview with the German Press Agency in Berlin.
Merkel's policy towards Russia during her 16-year term in office does not burden the new start of the party with Friedrich Merz at the helm after the disaster in the federal election.
The head of government in Ukraine, among others, had accused Merkel of a failed Russia policy against the background of the war atrocities in the Ukrainian city of Bucha.
At a NATO summit in 2008, Merkel opposed Ukraine's rapid admission to the defense alliance.
"Leaders in politics have assessed Russia differently in the past, which is wrong from today's perspective," said Czaja.
With a view to the corresponding error admissions by Federal President Frank-Walter Steinmeier, he added: "That's why I have great respect when incumbent politicians today assess their responsibility differently at the time and also take responsibility for it." Merkel is in political retirement, she had clearly positioned herself against the Russian war and spoke out in favor of measures against this war.
“In doing so, she also made it clear what she stands for.
That's enough,” said Czaja.
"We are not only experiencing a turning point in time, but also a return of history," said the Secretary General.
Since reunification and the fall of the Iron Curtain, everyone assumed that Germany was surrounded by friends and partners.
"Nobody would have expected at the time that Putin would wage a war of aggression against the entire Ukraine." But it is also clear "that from today's perspective one would certainly evaluate one or the other decision of the past differently."
When asked whether Merkel's policy at the time was a burden on the desired restart of the CDU leadership, Czaja said: "Angela Merkel's 16 years as Chancellor were good years for our country and the world.
She has successfully resolved many conflicts and is held in high regard around the world.”
After repeated requests, Merkel had declared that she was not currently planning any further public statements on her Russia policy.
Merkel's previous written statements in this context "are still valid.
Therefore, a public statement by the former Chancellor that goes beyond this is currently not planned," a spokeswoman for Merkel told the dpa in Berlin on request.
Merkel had strongly condemned the Russian attack in a written statement on February 25 and supported the efforts of her SPD successor, Olaf Scholz, to stop Putin.