Merkel praised Putin's German skills

Former German Chancellor Angela Merkel has admitted that Russian President Vladimir Putin speaks German better than she does Russian. She wrote about it in her memoirs titled "Freedom. Memories 1954-2021."

In the book, Merkel recalled a meeting with the Russian leader in Tomsk in April 2006. She noted that interpreters were present with them "just in case," but their help was not needed.

"Putin spoke in German. His German was better than my Russian," TASS quoted her as saying.

At the same time, she emphasized that her knowledge of the Russian language "remained at the level characteristic of the GDR times."

Memoirs of the former chancellor went on sale in Germany on Tuesday, November 26, specifies "Gazeta.ru". She wrote the book together with her longtime assistant Beate Baumann, who ran her office.

Earlier, on November 20, it became known that Merkel in her memoirs called Russian President Vladimir Putin "a man who was always on the alert" with a remarkable sense of self-righteousness.

Angela Merkel served as Germany's Federal Chancellor from November 22, 2005 to December 8, 2021. The last meeting between Putin and Merkel took place in August 2021. Merkel paid a working visit to Russia as part of her "farewell tour".