After German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s interview, Poland’s ruling PiS party demanded former President Donald Tusk to respond, sparking a political backlash.
Former German Chancellor on the Minsk Agreements
In 2015, Russian forces became increasingly aggressive toward Ukraine. Six thousand Ukrainian soldiers were encircled in Debaltseve (Donetsk region). At that time French President Francois Hollande and I considered that we should try to reach an agreement under one roof. That was the Minsk agreement. It was far from ideal, the former German Chancellor Angela Merkel said during an interview with the Hungarian channel Partizan. “Russia never really complied, but to some extent it eased the situation.” Between 2015 and 2021 Ukraine rebuilt its forces and was better able to defend itself.
Merkel: Poland Opposed EU Negotiations with Putin
Merkel also mentioned that in June 2021 she felt it seemed Putin had stopped taking the Minsk agreement seriously. “That’s why I wanted, together with President Macron, a new format of EU negotiations directly with Putin.” Some did not support it, especially the Baltic states, and Poland also opposed it because it feared we would be able to forge a common policy toward Russia. “In my opinion we should have developed a common policy.” In any case, that didn’t happen, she noted.
Manipulation and Disinformation
German newspaper Bild, discussing the interview in the Hungarian weekly, titled its article “Merkel blames Poland for Putin’s war.” “In which part of the interview on the Hungarian channel Partizan does Angela Merkel blame Poland for the war in Ukraine?” The words, so widely quoted by the media today, do not appear in her speech, former ambassador of Poland to Israel and the US, Marek Magierowski, commented on X. “The Chancellor only says that the Baltics and Poland did not agree to a new EU format of talks with Russia. From that statement to the claim that ‘Poland is co‑responsible for Putin’s war’ is a long way. In short: manipulation and pro‑disinformation.”
Jarosław Kaczyński on Tusk and the “Political Friend”
Although Merkel did not actually blame Poland for the war, as the Bild headline suggested, some Polish politicians already expressed indignation. Among them was PiS president Jarosław Kaczyński. “The political ‘Mutti’ and promoter of Tusk’s career accuse Poland and the Baltic states of contributing to the war in Ukraine because they did not seek to warm relations with Russia… A ridiculous argument, lying by attributing responsibility for the war to those who warned against Putin’s imperial ambitions.” He wrote on X.
“Mindless, Stupid, Harmful Statement”
In similar words, the former German Chancellor’s alleged remarks were commented on by, among others, PiS club head Mariusz Błaszczak. “The founder of Putin’s regime accuses Poland of co‑blaming for Russia’s attack on Ukraine. Such a mindless, stupid, harmful statement from Angela Merkel has not been seen before. Will Donald Tusk accept his political promoter’s statements?” He wrote on X. “We have become accustomed to the claim that Germans were Nazis—this is a new, bold theory. Angela Merkel asserts that Poland is responsible for Russia’s assault on Ukraine,” PiS MP Kacper Płażyński was outraged. “We cannot let the world be tamed by this new German propaganda machine, which may soon start…”
