Angela Merkel on Putin, Trump and defending her legacy

At the helm of Europe’s biggest economy, she was, as former Italian premier Matteo Renzi says, the de-facto leader of Europe – “the boss of the European Union”.

“Do you remember when [former US Secretary of State] Henry Kissinger used to say ‘what is the telephone number of Europe?’,” he says. “My answer was: clearly, the mobile number of Angela Merkel.”

He adds that when judging the Merkel legacy – over Russia and otherwise – it is important to remember the norms of the time.

“One cannot attack Angela for the relations with Russia,” he says.

“In 2005, 2006 [they] were a goal of everyone in Europe, not only a goal of Angela Merkel.”

Under Mrs Merkel, Germany and its energy-hungry big industries became dependent on Moscow. Germany built two gas pipelines directly linked to Russia.

President Zelensky described that cheap gas as a geopolitical tool of the Kremlin.

Mrs Merkel tells the BBC she had two motives with the pipelines: German business interests but also maintaining peaceful links with Russia.

Fellow EU and Nato members in eastern Europe strongly disagreed with her.

The Polish MP, Radoslaw Fogiel, said German gas money filled Russia’s war chest – used to fund the invasion of Ukraine.

Mrs Merkel insists she tried to curb Russian attacks on Ukraine using diplomacy and negotiations, which – she admits – ultimately failed.

And German industry has been disproportionately hit by sanctions on Russian energy. Forced to look for other suppliers, the country is now buying expensive LNG. Businesses says they are crippled by the costs.

A new era in Europe’s relations with Russia “regrettably” began following the full-scale invasion of Ukraine, says Mrs Merkel.