Merkel accuses Baltic states and Poland of disrupting talks with Putin. Estonia's reaction

Former сhancellor of Germany Angela Merkel said that the Baltic states and Poland allegedly failed to launch a new format of negotiations with Russia, after which the latter carried out a full-scale invasion of Ukraine. The politician expressed this opinion in an interview with the Hungarian resource Pastisan, transmits german newspaper Die Welt. Meanwhile, Estonian Foreign Minister Margus Tsakhkna emphasized that only Moscow is to blame for the war.

"In June 2021, I felt that [Russian dictator] Putin was no longer taking the Minsk agreements seriously, and so I wanted to create a new format, at that time together with [French] president Macron so that we can negotiate with Putin directly as the European Union," Merkel said.

However, the politician added, she faced resistance at the time. According to her, some states did not support the idea: "It was primarily the Baltic states, but Poland was also against it."

The former chancellor claimed that the four countries were "afraid" that Europe "would not have a common policy towards Russia," and their view was that they should work to create a unified position.

"In any case, it [the new format of negotiations with Russia] did not take place. Then I resigned from office, and then Putin's aggression began," the politician summarized.

Meanwhile, the head of Estonian diplomacy, Tsakhkna, said that Russia's war against Ukraine is due to only one reason – Moscow's refusal to recognize the collapse of the Soviet Union and its "unquenchable imperialist ambitions."

The official emphasized that Russia is solely responsible for this aggression.

He did not mention Merkel directly, but his post appeared after an interview with the politician.

• This is not the first scandalous statement Merkel has made since leaving the chancellorship. For example, in her memoirs, the politician stated that she tried to block Ukraine's accession to NATO because even then feared a possible military response from Moscow.