Overview

• In an interview with Hungarian outlet Partizán, Angela Merkel said she and Emmanuel Macron sought a new EU format in 2021 to speak directly with Vladimir Putin, which she said was not supported by the Baltic states and Poland.
• Officials in Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, and Poland publicly condemned the remarks, with Estonia’s foreign minister calling them insolent and false and Latvian politicians accusing Merkel of playing into divisive narratives.
• Polish ex–prime minister Mateusz Morawiecki criticized Merkel in a Facebook post, while other Baltic figures argued Western leaders had long underestimated the risks from Russia.
• Merkel reiterated that the 2015 Minsk agreement was flawed and not fully observed by Russia but said it helped calm fighting and allowed Ukraine to strengthen between 2015 and 2021.
• She said the COVID-19 pandemic curtailed in-person meetings with Putin, which hurt prospects for compromise, and her office noted her comments align with statements she made in 2022, though the specific reference to Baltic and Polish opposition was not cited then.