Receives Europe’s highest order of merit: Former German Chancellor Angela Merkel. (Strasbourg, May 19, 2025).Image: keystone
There is a growing realization in Europe that we need to negotiate directly with Russian President Vladimir Putin about an end to the war in Ukraine. But who can take on the task?
May 20, 2026, 8:30 p.mMay 20, 2026, 8:30 p.m
Remo Hess, Brussels / ch media
Since leaving politics five years ago, Angela Merkel has held back from speaking publicly. It was only last year that Germany’s long-term chancellor appeared more regularly again following the publication of her memoirs, “Freedom.”
Merkel is now back in conversation again. Firstly, because she was awarded the European Union’s highest order of merit in the EU Parliament on Tuesday.
And secondly, because Europe is desperately looking for someone who can negotiate directly with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
There is now a consensus in Europe that someone needs to talk to Putin. This is because US President Donald Trump has lost interest. His two special envoys, son-in-law Jared Kushner and golf buddy Steve Witkoff, last met the Russians in February in Geneva. Since then, Trump has spoken to Putin on the phone several times. But it was more about the bigger picture of American-Russian relations and the war against Iran.
Merkel brings herself into the game
Now Trump wants to pass the baton to the Europeans. The process of appointing a European special envoy is already underway internally, and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky is also vehemently calling for one. The application criteria are: An established European personality, widely respected and accepted by all as a negotiator.
The last criterion is the crux of the matter: Accepted by everyone does not just mean by the 27 EU member states. But also from the Ukrainians and above all: from Putin himself. Whoever he considers appropriate would be, for example, Gerhard Schröder, Putin recently said. For Europe, however, the former SPD chancellor is burned out: his proximity to Putin is too close, his roles in Russian energy companies and Nord Stream projects are too burdensome.
The 71-year-old Merkel has known Putin for many years. Although he once tried to intimidate her, who is afraid of dogs, with his Labrador Koni, their relationship is considered intact. Merkel also speaks fluent Russian and negotiated directly with Putin after the annexation of Crimea. The Russian would not dismiss the former German Chancellor as a lightweight.
Angela Merkel is afraid of dogs. That doesn’t stop Vladimir Putin from taking his Labrador retriever Koni with him to the meeting. (Sochi, January 21, 2007)Image: www.imago-images.de
At the beginning of the week, Merkel herself demanded that Europe begin direct talks with Putin. She supports military aid to Ukraine as “absolutely right”. But diplomatic efforts are “always the other side of the coin,” said Merkel at the Westdeutscher Rundfunk European Forum. Europe must get involved and cannot leave the field to the USA. It is a mistake to “not trust yourself.” At the same time, she warns that Putin should not be underestimated even now.
Merkel, the Putin expert. Why not? The problem: She firmly rejects an active role for herself. A sitting head of state and government would have to take care of that. Regarding her conversations with Putin from 2014 onwards, she says: “I wouldn’t have thought of asking someone to go to Minsk for me and talk to Putin there.”
And even if Merkel enjoys a lot of respect, she is by no means undisputed. Merkel is now spoken of poorly, especially in the eastern EU states and the Baltics. In Poland and the Baltics, many people today see their Russia policy as a fatal error. The resistance to a NATO path for Ukraine in 2008, the adherence to Nord Stream 2 after the annexation of Crimea and the long belief in change through rapprochement have seriously damaged their trust in Eastern Europe.
Lots of names, none of them fit
The incumbent EU foreign representative Kaja Kallas would be confident in the job. She said recently that she would not fall into Putin’s pitfalls. But she has the opposite problem of Merkel: in the eastern EU states she is valued for her clear stance on Russia. In the West it is polarizing. It is also clear that Putin would never accept her: she has even been on the Kremlin’s wanted list since 2024 because, as Estonian Prime Minister, she had Soviet war memorials removed.
Dares to do the job: Kaja Kallas.Image: www.imago-images.de
Another name that is floating around the EU capital Brussels is Mario Draghi. The former head of the European Central Bank (ECB) and predecessor of Giorgia Meloni as Italy’s Prime Minister would certainly have the format. But how serious the proposal is is unclear. Draghi is an economic and financial expert and not a peacemaker.
So Europe’s search for the Putin conversation remains a paradox for the time being: the woman who seems most suitable is the one who doesn’t want to – and whose legacy is the most controversial where Europe’s fear of Russia is greatest.