Lithuanian presidential chief adviser Asta Skaisgirytė commented that former German Chancellor Angela Merkel is seeking to justify past foreign policy mistakes toward Russia with her recent remarks suggesting the Baltic states and Poland pushed Moscow into diplomatic isolation.
Speaking to the radio Žinių Radijas on Tuesday, Skaisgirytė insisted that Lithuania and other regional countries were correct in opposing the Minsk agreements, which aimed to halt fighting in eastern Ukraine following Russia’s annexation of Crimea in 2014 and the outbreak of separatist fighting in Donbas.
“Indeed, neither the Baltic states nor Poland supported the Minsk agreements. Merkel was completely right about that – we did not support them,” Skaisgirytė said. “We didn’t believe it was the right path or one with a real future.”
“History later showed that once again, we were right,” she added.
“Of course, the former German chancellor, who was quite active in the process at the time, probably wants to justify the mistake she made,” she added.
In an interview with the Hungarian YouTube channel Partizan, Merkel said that the Baltic states and Poland contributed to the breakdown of relations between Europe and Russia. She recalled how she helped broker the 2015 Minsk agreement, which she said contained fighting until 2021 and allowed Ukraine time to “regroup and become a different country”.
The Minsk agreements were reached after separatists, backed by Moscow, seized parts of Ukraine’s Donetsk and Luhansk regions, following Russia’s occupation of Crimea.
Merkel said that by 2021 she sensed Russia no longer took the accords seriously and sought a new format for European Union dialogue with President Vladimir Putin, but the Baltic states and Poland opposed the idea.
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Skaisgirytė said that current German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier, who served as foreign minister at the time, has acknowledged mistakes in Germany’s Russia policy.
“The Minsk agreements led nowhere – truly nowhere – except to renewed military action,” she insisted.
Merkel’s remarks have drawn sharp criticism from politicians in the Baltic states and Poland.
Skaisgirytė also commented on reports that the United States is considering transferring Tomahawk missiles to Ukraine, saying such long-range weapons would give Kyiv an advantage in resisting Russia’s invasion.
“All types of weapons, especially long-range ones, strengthen the Ukrainians, and we hope that this will help turn the course of the war in their favour,” she said.
The adviser added that as talks on Ukraine’s European Union membership stall, alternative “formulas” for launching negotiations are being discussed, since several EU countries remain opposed to opening the first chapters of accession talks.
“I believe that sooner or later we will make that decision,” Skaisgirytė said. “It’s just a pity that time passes and there is still no resolution.”
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