Putin Says Merkels Words About Minsk Agreements Unexpected, Disappointing

 Russian President Vladimir Putin said that the statement of former German Chancellor Angela Merkel that the Minsk agreements had been concluded only to give Ukraine time to prepare for war with Russia were unexpected and disappointing for him.

Earlier, Merkel said in an interview with the Zeit newspaper that the 2014 Minsk agreement "was an attempt to give Ukraine extra time." The former chancellor said she doubted NATO countries could have done as much then as they were doing now to help Ukraine.

"Honestly, this was completely unexpected for me. This is disappointing. Frankly speaking, I did not expect to hear this from the former Federal Chancellor. I always assumed that the leadership of the Federal Republic is sincere with us," Putin said during a press conference, commenting on Merkel's statement.

It is quite understandable that Germany was on the side of Ukraine, supported Ukraine, he noted.

"But it still seemed to me that the leadership of the Federal Republic always sincerely sought a settlement on the principles that we agreed on and that were achieved, including within the framework of the Minsk process," Putin added.

Putin said that a question of trust arose after Merkel's words, but it would be necessary to agree on the Ukrainian issue anyway.

"Now, of course, the question of trust arises. And so trust, of course, is almost at zero, but after statements of this kind, of course, the question arises: how to negotiate anything? And is it possible to negotiate with anyone? And where are the guarantees? This, of course, is the question," Putin told reporters.

"But all the same, in the end, we will have to negotiate. I have said many times that we are ready for these agreements, we are open, but this makes us think, of course, about who we are dealing with," the president added.

The President noted that Merkel's statement "only says that we did everything right from the point of launching a special military operation."

Russia got its bearings in Ukraine late, hoping to resolve the situation peacefully, Putin said.

"Apparently, we got our bearings late, to be honest. Maybe, all this should have started earlier. We just hoped that we would be able to agree within the framework of the Minsk peace agreements. But what can you say to that," he told reporters.