Overview

• In a Partizán video interview published during a Hungary visit, Angela Merkel said she and Emmanuel Macron sought an EU format for direct talks with Vladimir Putin in June 2021.
• Merkel asserted that Poland and the Baltic states opposed the idea, the effort stalled, and that Putin’s aggression began after she left office.
• She argued that COVID-19 curtailed face-to-face diplomacy, citing Putin’s avoidance of in-person meetings and saying virtual talks could not produce new compromises.
• Merkel defended the 2015 Minsk agreement as having brought a period of calm and given Ukraine time to strengthen despite its imperfect implementation.
• Polish and Baltic politicians, including Mateusz Morawiecki and Latvian lawmaker Rihards Kols, condemned her remarks, while German commentators expressed surprise and critics noted Russia’s ongoing aggression since 2014 and thousands of Ukrainian military casualties before 2022.