German Newspaper Nominates Putin as 'Political Winner' of 2015

According to Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, Moscow has proved to be an indispensable partner in the negotiations with Iran and Syria.

The German newspaper Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung set up a list of politicians, who "won" and "lost" in 2015.

Among the winners, the newspaper named Russian President Vladimir Putin.

"Russia proved to be a constructive partner in the negotiations on Iran's nuclear program; moreover, the Russian involvement in the Syrian conflict led to the fact that its resolution became impossible without Putin," the newspaper wrote.

At the beginning of 2015, Russia had strained relations with the West, but by the end of the year the situation had changed, the article said.

German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier has even talked about the possibility of Russia's return to G8, a move which was considered impossible a few months ago.

According to the newspaper, the year was successful for US President Barack Obama as well. The US Supreme Court backed up Obama's health care reform, while the unemployment rate in the US decreased to 5%. Obama has also achieved a lot in the foreign policy, including an agreement with Iran as well as successful TPP negotiations, the article said.

For Angela Merkel this year was the most difficult time of all her chancellorship, and yet she was able to strengthen her positions as a European leader. However, the ongoing refugee crisis may weaken her image in the long-run and signify "the beginning of the end of Merkel's era," FAZ wrote.

Among "Winners 2015" the newspaper also named Turkish President Erdogan whose party received a majority of the seats in the Turkish parliament; Marine Le Pen, whose party showed good results in the regional elections in France; and US billionaire Donald Trump, who leads the rankings of the republican presidential candidates.

The "Losers 2015" turned out to be, Former Greek Finance Minister Yanis Varoufakis, Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott, Venezuela's President Nicolas Maduro and Former Argentine President Cristina Kirchner.