Former German Chancellor Angela Merkel ignited a fierce backlash after stating, in an interview with the Hungarian outlet Partizán, that Poland (along with the Baltic states) had in 2021 opposed a EU-led initiative to speak directly with Vladimir Putin — a refusal she now suggests partially undermined efforts to stabilize the situation prior to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Merkel also implied that, had that dialogue succeeded, it might have altered the course of events — a claim many have interpreted as attributing indirect responsibility for the war to those opposing states.
Her comments prompted a torrent of criticism in Poland. Former Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki condemned the remarks as evidence that Merkel “is among the most harmful German politicians for Europe in the past century.” Several politicians took a harsher tone. MEP Adam Bielan declared on Polish radio: “She has blood on her hands and should be silent.” Others accused her of moral hypocrisy and of playing into Russian propaganda narratives.
From the Polish political sphere, reactions spanned the spectrum. Katarzyna Pełczyńska-Nałęcz, a diplomat and political figure, dismissed Merkel’s framing as absurd: “Suggesting someone is to blame for war because they did not bow low enough to Russia is nonsense.” Some PiS-affiliated politicians branded Merkel as “the most pro-Russian politician in the history of the EU.” Meanwhile, the chair of Estonia’s foreign affairs committee accused her of shifting blame unfairly onto Poland and the Baltic countries “for provoking Russia’s imperial war.”
Merkel’s original remarks also included reflections on the Minsk agreements. She noted that by 2021 she sensed Putin was no longer treating those accords seriously, prompting her and French President Emmanuel Macron to propose a new format of direct EU–Russia dialogue — a proposal she claims Poland and Baltic states blocked out of concern that the EU lacked a unified Russia policy. In her defense, she argued her goal was to provide space for diplomatic options before major escalation.
However, critics dispute her framing and motives. They argue that Merkel’s emphasis on diplomatic engagement underestimates the aggressive trajectory Russia had already taken and wrongly shifts responsibility onto those who favored a more skeptical, security‐first approach. The severity of the responses reflects deep sensitivities over Poland’s role and reputation in European security and its relationship with Russia.
In the midst of the storm, Merkel has not directly walked back her words. The controversy underscores how fraught interpretations of responsibility, diplomacy, and moral accountability remain in discussions of the Ukraine war — and how leaders’ retrospective statements can inflame national sensitivities long after their time in power.
