Angela Merkel, head of the German government in the years 2005–2021, in an interview published on YouTube referred to the events of the period preceding the Russian invasion. She defended in it a François Holland Agreement negotiated together with the then President of France, which was aimed at stopping the fighting in Donbas. She reminded that at that time about six thousand Ukrainian soldiers were surrounded by Russian forces, and the signing of the agreement allowed – he claims – to avoid further escalation.
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Angela Merkel blames Poland from the outbreak of war in Ukraine. She presented the reason
Merkel admitted that Minsk agreements were not perfect, and Russia broke them many times. At the same time, she decided that The findings contained at that time gave Ukraine several years to strengthen the army and state structures, which later allowed it to defend herself more effectively against Russian aggression.
Later in the conversation, the Chancellor mentioned her attempts to resume dialogue with Vladimir Putin. As she said, in June 2021, at the end of her term, together with the President of France Emmanuel Macron, she proposed a new format of talks between the European Union and Russia. The idea, however, did not get the support of all Member States.
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Opposition – as Merkel pointed out – They were expressed primarily by Poland and the Baltic States, which were afraid that without a hard EU position towards Moscow, conversations would end with concessions to Putin. It was the lack of unanimity in Europe that Merkel considered a factor that led to further deterioration of the relationship between Russia and the West. In her opinion, the breaking of political dialogue with Moscow opened the way to aggression on Ukraine in February 2022.
The former chancellor also pointed out that It is impossible to clearly state today whether the continuation of conversations with Putin would prevent the war. She added, however, that Europe should draw conclusions from the past, strengthen its own defensive abilities and consistently support Ukraine in the fight against Russian aggression.
“Bild” pointed out that it was the policy of concessions to Putin, conducted by Berlin for many years, led to Europe's addiction to Russian raw materials and strengthened Russia's position before the invasion.
