Former German Chancellor Angela Merkel criticized the European Union on Monday, May 18, for not doing enough diplomatically to engage Russia over the war in Ukraine, while simultaneously rejecting the idea that she could personally serve as a mediator.
“I regret that, in my view, Europe is not making sufficient use of its diplomatic potential,” Merkel said in an interview with German broadcaster WDR, according to Politico.
“It’s not enough for [US President Donald] Trump to maintain contact with Russia,” she added.
Merkel said military support for Ukraine remains necessary and backed efforts to strengthen Europe’s deterrence capabilities against Russia.
Merkel rejects idea of becoming mediator
Despite calls in Europe for the appointment of a special envoy to help mediate between Kyiv and Moscow, Merkel said she would not be the right person for such a role.
The former German leader argued that only politicians currently in power can credibly negotiate with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
“We were only able to hold those negotiations with President Putin because we had political power, because we were heads of government,” Merkel said.
“You need that power,” she added. “You have to take that into your own hands.”
Merkel’s name has been floated in recent months as a possible European peace envoy because of her previous negotiations with Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.
However, she said she had not received any official request.
Merkel says diplomacy failed before war
Merkel revealed that during her final European Council meeting in October 2021, four months before Russia launched its full-scale invasion, she had proposed creating a diplomatic format between the EU and Russia.
According to Merkel, the proposal failed because EU member states could not agree on how to approach Moscow.
“You have to keep working on it until you reach a common position,” she said.
“Diplomacy has always been the other side of the coin, also during the Cold War.”
Merkel’s role in German-Russian relations has faced growing criticism since the start of the war, particularly over Germany’s increased dependence on Russian gas during her time in office. She also helped broker the Minsk agreements in 2014 and 2015 alongside France, though the ceasefire deals ultimately failed to stop the conflict in eastern Ukraine.
Earlier, European Council President António Costa said, that the EU sees “potential” for future negotiations with Putin. He added that the bloc is preparing for possible talks and has the support of President Volodymyr Zelensky.
“Yes, it’s a possibility [to negotiate with Putin],” Costa said. “[But] for the time being, nobody has seen any sign from Russia that they want effectively to engage in serious negotiations.”
Later he said the EU will only talk to Putin at the “right moment.”
However, EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas made the comments in Brussels ahead of a meeting of EU foreign ministers when asked about former German Chancellor Gerhard Schröder potentially serving as a negotiator. She said that it would be “not very wise” to allow Russia to influence who negotiates on behalf of the European Union.
“If we give the right to Russia to appoint a negotiator on our behalf, that would not be very wise,” Kallas said.
Kallas described Schröder as a “high-level lobbyist for Russian state-owned companies.”
“So, it is clear why Putin wants him to be the person, so that, actually, he would be sitting on both sides of the table,” she said.
Schröder has long faced criticism in Europe over his work with Russian energy companies and his close relationship with Russian leader Vladimir Putin.
She also said the EU is not yet ready for direct talks with Russia because member states first need to coordinate a common position.
Meanwhile on May 11, Zelensky said Putin “has declared his readiness for real negotiations”.
“Now Putin himself says that he is finally ready for real meetings. We pushed him a little, and we have been preparing for meetings for a long time, so we need to find a format. We need to end this war, reliably guarantee security,” Zelensky said.