Angela Merkel denied accusations of acknowledging responsibility for Russian aggression
Former German Chancellor Angela Merkel rejected allegations of partially blaming Poland and the Baltic countries for Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine. She stated that her words were misunderstood.
In an interview with the German channel Phoenix, Merkel called these accusations “fake news,” emphasizing that she never made such statements. The incident relates to a scandal that erupted at the beginning of October, when Merkel pointed out that due to Poland, Latvia, Lithuania, and Estonia, her initiative to start a new format of negotiations with Russia in 2021 could not be implemented. With this idea, she planned to act alongside French President Emmanuel Macron on behalf of the European Union.
She noted that her thoughts were published in the book “Freiheit” (“Freedom”) and did not attract attention for an entire year. However, now, according to her, there has been significant resonance. When asked about the possibility of placing responsibility for the new invasion on specific countries, Merkel replied: “No. We all failed to prevent this war, including in our negotiations with the Americans.”
According to the former chancellor, even before her proposal for new negotiations, U.S. President Joe Biden had already met with Vladimir Putin, which, in her opinion, made dialogue between Europeans and Russia necessary, rather than leaving it solely to the U.S. She emphasized that her statements had no intention of placing blame.
This is not the first resonant statement by Angela Merkel after completing her chancellorship duties. She previously claimed in her memoirs that she tried to block Ukraine’s accession to NATO due to fears of a military reaction from Moscow.
