Angela Merkel defends ties with Russia and blocking Ukraine from Nato | BBC News

Former German Chancellor Angela Merkel has told the BBC the gas deals she made with Russia were intended to help German firms and kept the peace with Moscow. She also insisted the war with Ukraine would have started earlier if she hadn’t blocked Kyiv’s entry into Nato in 2008. Angela Merkel led Germany for 16 years. She was in office during the financial crisis, the 2015 migrant crisis and, significantly, Russia’s 2014 invasion of Ukraine. She says she believes the war in Ukraine would have started sooner and would likely have been worse, if Kyiv had begun the path to Nato membership in 2008. Subscribe here: http://bit.ly/1rbfUog For more news, analysis and features visit: www.bbc.com/news #Germany #Russia #BBCNews