Merkel's remarks draw strong criticism from Poland and Baltic states

RIGA - Former German Chancellor Angela Merkel's remarks implying the Baltic states and Poland's responsibility for Russia's war against Ukraine have provoked a strong reaction in Warsaw and the Baltic states.

Merkel’s remarks in an interview with Hungarian outlet Partizan sparked strong reactions across the region, with Polish and Baltic politicians rejecting her implication that their resistance to direct EU-Russia talks contributed to Moscow’s aggression.

Speaking on Monday, Polish Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski said Merkel’s claim that Warsaw opposed such talks was "as true as what [Merkel] said in her memoirs, that nobody from Central Europe protested against Nord Stream."

"Look at the German government's reaction to what I said in 2007 about how we don't like agreements made over our heads, so the Chancellor must have forgotten how her own government reacted to our protests," he added.

Merkel said in the interview that in June 2021 she and French President Emmanuel Macron had sought direct talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin over what they saw as his declining commitment to the 2015 Minsk agreements. "This was not supported by some. It was mainly the Baltic states, but Poland was also against it," she said.

Her comments triggered a wave of anger in Warsaw. Former Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki said on X: "Angela Merkel, through her thoughtless interview, proved that she is among the most harmful German politicians to Europe in the past century."

Katarzyna Pelczynska-Nalecz, Poland's regional policy minister and former ambassador to Russia, said Merkel's words only played into Moscow's narrative. "Suggesting blame for the war because someone didn't sit down with Russia on time and didn't bow low enough to [Moscow] is absurd. It would have been even worse," she said.

Baltic officials were similarly dismissive.

Former Latvian Prime Minister Krisjanis Karins said he was "astonished that after everything that has happened in Ukraine, she still thinks this way," adding that Merkel had misunderstood Russia's intentions.

"Putin acts the way he acts, and the only options for the West are either to submit or to resist... I am glad that the new German chancellor, Friedrich Merz, does not share Merkel's views," Karins said.

Estonian Foreign Minister Margus Tsahkna wrote on X that Russia "alone is to blame for this aggression."

"Suggesting that the Baltics or Poland are to blame for Russia's aggression against Ukraine is not only impertinent but simply wrong... The real cause is Putin's refusal to accept the USSR's collapse and the West's past appeasement while ignoring clear warning signs," Tsahkna added, slamming the country for its "unrelenting imperialist ambitions."

However, Marek Magierowski, Poland's former ambassador to the United States, criticized the media for overstating Merkel's intent. "The former chancellor only says that the Baltics and Poland did not agree to a new EU format of talks with Russia. From that statement to the formulation that 'Poland is co-responsible for Putin's war' is quite a long way," he wrote on X.