BERLIN—Chancellor Angela Merkel’s emergence as a leader in efforts to resolve Ukraine’s crisis — showcased by a visit to Kiev this weekend — underlines Germany’s increasing ambition to transform itself from economic power to diplomatic heavyweight.
Merkel and her foreign minister, Frank-Walter Steinmeier, have put Berlin at the forefront of so-far frustrating diplomatic efforts, as many European nations focus on domestic troubles and the U.S. is engaged in crises elsewhere.
Nearly nine years in power and an unchallenged leader at home, Merkel has thrown Germany’s weight behind European economic sanctions against Russia, while also keeping up months of frequent telephone diplomacy with …read more
Source: The Epoch Times
