Overview
- In the interview, Angela Merkel says she and Emmanuel Macron sought in 2021 to have the European Union speak directly with Vladimir Putin, a plan she says was opposed chiefly by the Baltic states and also Poland.
- She recounts that the effort failed before she left office and before Russia’s large-scale assault on Ukraine, while adding that no one can know what would have happened otherwise.
- Officials in Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and Poland denounced the remarks as incorrect or damaging, arguing they shift responsibility and overlook years of warnings about Russia.
- A Merkel spokeswoman said the observations are not new and echoed comments from June 2022, as the Kremlin welcomed her account and attacked what it called Baltic and Polish obstruction.
- Merkel also defended Minsk II as having provided a period of calm that let Ukraine strengthen, and reports recall that Italy and Austria backed the 2021 EU-summit idea as debate over engagement persists without policy change.