Former German Chancellor Angela Merkel has long faced criticism for being too soft on Vladimir Putin during her 16-years in power, where she tried and ultimately failed to build lasting ties with the authoritarian Russian leader.
The pair, who speak each other's languages fluently and who both grew up in communist states, kept in frequent contact throughout her time in office and were understood to share a grudging respect.
But the 71-year-old, who was in power during Russia’s 2014 invasion of Ukraine, has consistently faced accusations of cosying up to Moscow and being too slow to help Kyiv.
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