Former German Chancellor Angela Merkel announced that in 2021, she had proposed direct talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin; however, a number of European countries, including Poland and the Baltic states, opposed the idea.
Merkel told the Hungarian newspaper Partizan that if the meetings had taken place, further events could have taken a different course.
She also noted that Putin’s decision to invade Ukraine was influenced not only by political differences but also by the coronavirus pandemic.
“We could no longer meet because Putin was afraid of the pandemic. When you cannot meet and discuss differences in person, it is difficult to find new compromises,” the former chancellor said.
Merkel’s statements have received a wide response in Europe, especially against the backdrop of a debate over the responsibility of EU countries in their relations with Russia on the eve of the war in Ukraine.
