Did Merkel want to be friends with Russia?

Former German Chancellor Angela Merkel has revealed that she was going to hold talks with Vladimir Putin before his invasion of Ukraine, but was never able to influence the Russian President because she was soon to leave her post.

"In the summer of 2021, after the meeting between Presidents Biden and Putin, I, together with Emmanuel Macron, once again wanted to establish an independent European format of discussion with Putin in the EU Council. Some people objected, and I no longer had the strength to push this forward." After all, everyone knew: she would be gone by the fall.