The belated revelation from former German Chancellor Angela Merkel, that Poland and the Baltic countries blocked her effort to conduct diplomacy with Russia in 2021 has touched a nerve, as it certainly undercuts the refrain in the West’s narrative that Russia was “unprovoked” in its actions in Ukraine. Italy’s Corriere della Sera reported on several responses to Merkel’s comments:
Latvian Prime Minister Krišjānis Kariņš contradicted her on X: “I have told her many times that you cannot deal with Putin ‘in good faith,’ but she believed that the Baltic countries were wrong. I was well aware of Merkel’s views, but I am amazed that, after everything that has happened in Ukraine, she still thinks this way.” Former Latvian Foreign Minister Gabrielius Landsbergis posted: “Say what you will, she has finally admitted whose side she is on.”
Estonian Foreign Minister Margus Tsahkna struck a similar tone: “Only Russia is to blame for the aggression,” while former Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki said: “Angela Merkel, with her rash interview, has shown herself to be one of the most damaging German politicians for Europe in the last century.”
