Sadly I have to agree. Below a link to an archived version of Die Zeit inteview with Merkel.
I don't know if google translate will provide good results. Merkel doesn't come right out and say she "fooled" Putin, it is more the way she doesn't ever say that Germany worked to implement Minsk, just to "give Ukraine time" (she says this twice).
Russia did not use its gas deliveries as political levers until the war started. I read this also in western media.
Sadly, if you try to be objective about the war - the only way to get to peace - the shouts of "Putin puppet" and "Russian propaganda" get very loud. It is depressing and doesn't speak to quick end to the war. Hopefully those voices are not emblematic of US diplomatic voices behind the scenes (the do match Blinken and co.!).
