Merkel stated that Poland and the Baltics thwarted her initiative for talks with Russia in 2021

Former German Chancellor Angela Merkel said that Poland and the Baltic states blocked her initiative for direct negotiations with Russia in 2021. In her view, this was one of the reasons behind Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

Merkel made the remarks in an interview with the Hungarian outlet Partizán.

The ex-chancellor explained how the idea of talks with Moscow first emerged.

“In June 2021, I felt that Putin no longer took the Minsk agreements seriously,” Merkel said.

She therefore proposed creating a new negotiation format on behalf of the European Union. However, the initiative did not receive full support. Poland and the Baltic states were the first to oppose it. According to her, they feared that the EU would be unable to develop a unified policy toward Russia.

Merkel believes that the absence of direct negotiations with Putin influenced his decision to launch the full-scale war, while stressing that peace is possible if Europe “acts as a real deterrent factor and supports Ukraine.”

It should be recalled that during the first year of the war, Merkel admitted that the Minsk agreements had given Ukraine “precious time” to prepare its Armed Forces for a new conflict.

Recently, NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte expressed his conviction that the war in Ukraine will not end with the outright victory of one side, but through negotiations.