By Sanxuan

The Russia-Ukraine conflict has reached a crossroads, and former German Chancellor Merkel has finally spoken out.

As the European leader who has dealt with Putin for the longest time, no one knows better than Merkel the causes of the Russia-Ukraine conflict. However, due to her close relationship with Putin, Merkel faced a lot of criticism in the early stages of the war, with many European politicians accusing her of implementing a policy of appeasement towards Russia during her tenure, which led to the tragedy.

Regarding the various criticisms, Merkel has explained many times, and the main points are that Germany needed cheap Russian gas to develop its economy, and that it was not in Europe's overall interest to be at odds with Russia, as no one wants to see a fire break out at their doorstep.

But this time, Merkel revealed a shocking secret - the outbreak of the Russia-Ukraine conflict was actually related to four Eastern European countries, namely the most anti-Russian Poland, Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia.

Recently, Merkel said in an interview that the sudden outbreak of the Russia-Ukraine conflict was closely related to these four Eastern European countries, and was largely due to the division of Europe's policy towards Russia, in other words, it was Europe itself that dug its own grave.

Merkel pointed out that in June 2021, half a year before the outbreak of the Russia-Ukraine conflict, she realized that Putin had lost trust in the Minsk Agreement, so she proposed a new mode of communication, which was direct dialogue between European leaders and Putin on a regular basis to maintain stability.

This proposal was not particularly brilliant, but it was the best choice at the time. Only by having European leaders personally guarantee it could they possibly dispel Russia's concerns and prevent the situation from escalating.

However, because the situation had already become tense, both sides were amassing troops along the border, showing a look of ready to fight at any moment. In addition, the four Eastern European countries had long-term fears and hatred for Russia, and they strongly opposed Merkel and others' direct dialogue with Putin.

Later events are known to all, and Merkel's plan ultimately failed to take shape, because not long after, she left office, and what she feared most happened. In February 2022, Putin finally couldn't bear it anymore and ordered a special military operation against Ukraine, marking the beginning of the Russia-Ukraine conflict, which is still ongoing until now.

Unexpectedly, this statement was firmly opposed by the four Eastern European countries. Former Polish Prime Minister Morawiecki even described Merkel as "one of the most destructive German politicians for Europe," clearly showing his anger.

Of course, when it comes to issues involving Russia, Polish politicians have never been very rational, so Morawiecki's words were not taken seriously. After all, Merkel's achievements are well-known to the world, and she did make some controversial actions during her term, but in terms of maintaining European peace, there is no European leader who has done better than her.

As Serbian President Vučić said, if Merkel had not stepped down, the Russia-Ukraine conflict would not have broken out. It should be noted that her last visit to Russia before leaving office, Putin still gave her a bouquet of flowers, despite the fact that relations between Russia and the West had already been very bad at that time.

Merkel's comments also revealed the curtain that Europe has always tried to cover up, that NATO's eastward expansion is only the root cause of the Russia-Ukraine conflict, and the lack of unity within Europe is the direct trigger.

Unfortunately, to this day, Europe is still a disorganized mess, unable to unite to counter Russia, and lacking a rational leader like Merkel to stop the situation, so it can only anxiously watch the situation develop, and even fuel it further. The root cause of the Russia-Ukraine conflict, in the end, is that there are too few politicians like Merkel.

Original: https://www.toutiao.com/article/7558772691814187571/

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