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Monday, November 5, 2018

What will the end of Merkel era mean to Ukraine and Russia

VOLODYMYR OHRYZKO


Everything once comes to an end. And now we're seeing the start of the final stage of Angela Merkel's cadence. In German politics, she will certainly leave a very noticeable trace. Frau Merkel is as a leader perhaps of the same magnitude as Adenauer or Kohl. Angela Merkel is a really prominent politician and it's a shame that she decided to complete her political career. 

However, on the other hand, changes, rotations, new ideas and approaches are needed. Merkel's decision deserves respect: she realizes that the time has come for new ideas and approaches, so she acted in a truly European way. There are issues that need to be addressed, but it's other politicians who will have to deal with them.

For Ukraine, Angela Merkel is an especially important political figure. Due to her efforts, some extremely complicated developments were successfully stopped right in the beginning of Russian aggression. At the same time, I would in no way like to diminish the role of our Armed Forces - apparently, they became the most important tool that helped to some extent tune down Russian aggression. But Frau Merkel's diplomatic pressure on Putin, of course, also played its positive role. What will happen after Angela Merkel is replaced? For some reason, it seems to me that in this case, no real shifts should be expected in the German position. 

However, the latest tendencies in German politics are not pro-European. This will be somewhat similar to what happened in the United States: when Donald Trump came to power, everyone thought that it was the end of the world, but in fact it was nothing like that. 

The same is true here. I think that in Germany, politicians will come to power, for whom European values and international law remain important. Therefore, I do not anticipate any fundamental changes in German policies.



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