Former сhancellor of Germany Angela Merkel said that the Baltic states and Poland allegedly failed to launch a new format of negotiations with Russia, after which the latter carried out a full-scale invasion of Ukraine. The politician expressed this opinion in an interview with the Hungarian resource Pastisan, transmits german newspaper Die Welt. Meanwhile, Estonian Foreign Minister Margus Tsakhkna emphasized that only Moscow is to blame for the war.
"In June 2021, I felt that Putin was no longer taking the Minsk agreements seriously, and so I wanted to create a new format, at that time together with [French] president Macron so that we can negotiate with Putin directly as the European Union," Merkel said.
However, the politician added, she faced resistance at the time. According to her, some states did not support the idea: "It was primarily the Baltic states, but Poland was also against it."
The former chancellor claimed that the four countries were "afraid" that Europe "would not have a common policy towards Russia," and their view was that they should work to create a unified position.
"In any case, it [the new format of negotiations with Russia] did not take place. Then I resigned from office, and then Putin's aggression began," the politician summarized.
