Latvian President Edgars Rinkēvičs commented on the recent statement by former German Chancellor Angela Merkel regarding the Baltic states and Poland’s opposition to direct negotiations between the European Union and Russia in 2021. At that time, according to Rinkēvičs, there was a significant concentration of Russian troops near the Ukrainian borders, which sparked serious discussions among European politicians.
This is reported by Kyiv24
Position of the Baltic States and Poland in 2021
Rinkēvičs, who served as Latvia’s Minister of Foreign Affairs in 2021, reminded that various proposals for a dialogue format with the Russian Federation were discussed during that period. He emphasized that the Minsk agreements were effectively non-functional, and Moscow had no intention of implementing them. According to the president, Poland and the Baltic states held the view that Russia was not interested in engaging in dialogue with the EU as a unified entity, but rather sought to divide the EU’s position.
Rinkēvičs noted that the main idea was to find a negotiation format in which Russia would speak not with individual states, but with the entire European Union; however, Moscow avoided such a model. He also emphasized that after the onset of full-scale aggression in February 2022, many Western politicians recognized that the position of Poland and the Baltic states was correct, but it was not heard in time.
“We were right, and I still believe that we are right. But I am the president of the Latvian state. I think that from representatives of other countries, you may hear that we need to look for objects or subjects of political discussions again and talk to the Russian Federation. We saw the attempts to organize a Russian-Ukrainian summit; Russia itself does not want to talk. Was Russia ready to talk in 2021? Only if all its ultimatums were met. And let’s not forget that there were quite a few such ultimatums in 2020-2021 – regarding Ukraine, NATO, and other matters.”
Reaction to Merkel’s Words
In early October, Angela Merkel stated in an interview with the Hungarian opposition media Partizán that in 2021, together with French President Emmanuel Macron, she proposed creating a “new format” for EU negotiations with Russian President Vladimir Putin. However, this initiative was not supported by the Baltic states and Poland, which Merkel mentioned in the conversation.
The former chancellor’s remarks were widely discussed in Western media, with several headlines noting that she partially placed the responsibility for Russia’s invasion of Ukraine on Poland and the Baltic states. Politicians from these countries responded to Merkel’s words with criticism, emphasizing the correctness of their approach in 2021.