“This makes us think about who we are dealing with”: Putin on Merkel

Russian President Vladimir Putin stated that following former German Chancellor Angela Merkel's comments on the motivations behind signing the Minsk agreements, questions of trust arise, yet it is essential to reach an agreement on the Ukrainian issue.

“Now, of course, the question of trust arises, and trust is, of course, almost zero. But after such statements, a question arises: how to negotiate, and is it possible to negotiate? And where are the guarantees? This, of course, is the question,” Putin told reporters.

“However, in the end, we must come to an agreement. I have said many times that we are ready for these agreements; we are open, but this makes us think about who we are dealing with,” he added.

Earlier, Merkel stated in an interview with the Zeit newspaper that the 2014 Minsk agreement was an attempt to buy time for Ukraine. The former chancellor expressed doubts that NATO countries could have done as much back then as they are doing now to support Ukraine.