She also acknowledged that her influence with Russian President Vladimir Putin had dwindled shortly before she left office.
“It was clear that I would not stay in power for a long time, and therefore I am simply forced to state that various attempts last year had no effect,” Merkel is quoted by TASS.
At the same time, the politician noted that she failed to create an additional European-Russian format for discussing the European security order along with the Normandy format.
The former German chancellor also said that her resignation could be one of the reasons for the escalation of the conflict in Ukraine.