Former German chancellor Angela Merkel, who held the position in period 2005-2021, admitted in his memoirs that during a meeting with Donald Trump in 2017 the American leader asked her questions about Russian President Vladimir Putin, and she got the impression that he was "fascinated" from the Russian leader. Excerpts from the book have been published by Die Zeit newspaper, which has exclusively obtained a pre-printed copy of individual parts.
„He seemed completely fascinated by the Russian president,” Merkel wrote. Trump also asked the former chancellor several questions about her East German heritage.
„We spoke at different levels – "Trump on an emotional level, I relied on facts," Merkel noted. However, she wrote that after the meeting with Trump, she had a “bad feeling”. The former chancellor said she had come to the conclusion that working together for global development would not work with him. Merkel first met with the then second US president in mid-March 2017.
The former chancellor will present the book in Berlin on November 26. The memoirs will be published under the title "Freedom". Memories 1954-2021" She prepared them together with her longtime assistant, former chancellor Beate Baumann's chief of staff.
Meanwhile, the Kremlin announced that a combined hotline and a major press conference of Russian President Vladimir Putin is already being prepared. It will be held in December, traditionally on Thursday.