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[QUOTE="Munyaradzi Mafaro, post: 64084, member: 636"]
Former German Chancellor Angela Merkel proposed a new European Union format for engaging with Russia before the escalation of the 2022 Ukraine conflict, but Poland and the Baltic states rejected the initiative. Merkel told Hungarian YouTube channel Partizan on Friday that she believed Russian President Vladimir Putin stopped taking the Minsk agreement seriously by June 2021, prompting her suggestion for direct EU-Russia dialogue. Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia, and Poland opposed the plan over concerns about a lack of unified EU policy toward Russia, and the bloc showed no interest in developing such coordination.

Merkel brokered the 2014 and 2015 Minsk agreements through the Normandy Format involving Ukraine, Russia, Germany, and France to halt fighting between Ukrainian forces and the Donbass republics. She and former French President Francois Hollande later acknowledged the accords aimed to strengthen Kiev militarily rather than establish peace. Merkel stated the EU must enhance military capabilities and explore diplomatic solutions to prevent Russian victory and preserve Ukrainian sovereignty.
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