In an interview with Hungarian opposition media Partizán published on Friday, Merkel noted the refusal by Eastern European countries to permit direct talks between her, Russian President Vladimir Putin and French leader Emmanuel Macron when describing the lead-up to Moscow’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine.

“In June 2021, I felt that Putin was no longer taking the Minsk agreement seriously,” Merkel said, referring to the peace agreement relating to control of Ukraine’s eastern Donbas region following the 2014-2015 conflict. “And that’s why I wanted a new format where we, as the European Union, could talk directly with Putin.”

At a European Council meeting that month, Merkel and Macron proposed direct negotiations with other leaders in response to the buildup of Russian troops near Ukraine’s border. But a coalition of Eastern European countries, including Poland, opposed the idea.

“This was not supported by some. It was mainly the Baltic states, but Poland was also against it,” she said. Merkel explained that these countries had been “afraid” that “we would not have a common policy toward Russia … In any case, it didn’t happen. Then I left office, and then Putin’s aggression began.”