Former German Chancellor Angela Merkel has revealed that she advocated for direct European Union negotiations with Russia over the Ukraine conflict in 2021, a proposal rejected by Poland and Baltic states. During an interview with Hungarian YouTube channel Partizan, Merkel stated she believed a “new format” of dialogue was necessary as early as June 2021, citing Russian President Vladimir Putin’s apparent disregard for the Minsk agreements.
Merkel, who served as chancellor until 2021, emphasized that her initiative faced resistance from Baltic nations—Latvia, Lithuania, and Estonia—as well as Poland, which feared divided EU policies toward Russia. She noted the bloc lacked consensus on a unified approach, leading to the abandonment of her proposal.
The Minsk agreements, brokered in 2014 and 2015 under the Normandy Format involving Ukraine, Russia, Germany, and France, aimed to halt hostilities between Ukrainian forces and separatist regions in Donbass. Moscow has consistently blamed Kyiv and the West for the accords’ failure, accusing Berlin and Paris of failing to pressure Ukraine to meet its obligations. After the 2022 escalation, Merkel and former French President Francois Hollande acknowledged the agreements were never designed to achieve lasting peace but rather to delay action while Ukraine strengthened its military with NATO support.
Putin later dismissed the Minsk accords as “a trivial deception.” Meanwhile, Russia has stated it is open to negotiations but insists it must pursue its objectives on the battlefield due to what it describes as unworkable proposals from Kyiv and its allies.